good morning. secret weapon, the white house announces michelle obama will hit the campaign trail to help democrats in their fight to keep control of congress. while on the republican side, a brewing battle in alaska where incumbent senator lisa murkowski is being criticized by her own party for starting a write-in campaign after losing the primary. this morning, senator murkowski explains her decision in a live interview. safety risk? the only birth control patch available to women linked to potentially deadly blood clots. is ortho evra too dangerous to

be sold. and paris hilton denied entry into japan. we'll tell you why that country has sent her packing today, we'll tell you why that country has sent her packing today, wednesday, september 22nd, 2010. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good morning. welcome to "today" on a wednesday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> and i'm meredith vieira. things are heating up for both parties with the midterm fast approaching. >> that's right. michelle obama will use her population and influence in six states where democratic candidates are in a little bit of trouble. this as lisa murkowski is being accused of trying to split up the republican party in alaska by running as a write-in candidate to save her senate seat. then, of course, there's delaware, where christine o'donnell says she's taking advice on all the controversy surrounding her from sarah palin. we're going to have more on all of this coming up in just a couple of minutes. talking about controversy, also had that bitter custody

battle between mel gibson and his ex-girlfriend, oksanna aggressivera. the actor apologized for his behavior in those intimate phone conversations. why is so much of their dirty laundry being aired so publicly and is oksanna behind it all? this morning for the first time, her attorneys speak out. and on tuesday we told you about that british girl who just won the title of america's perfect teen. so how do her fellow contestants feel about that? we'll hear from them and talking to that win withing teen from wales as she joins for a live interview. let's begin with the latest twists and turns in what has become one of the most compelling midterm election fights in year. nbc's kelly o'donnell has the details. kelly, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, meredith. you know, the president can be particularly effective raising money for democrats and he'll do that again today, but democrats will now tap the popularity of the first lady for the first time since the 2008 campaign. it's a season where every issue

and every personality comes down to politics. soon adding her voice to midterm politics -- >> thank you. >> reporter: -- the white house announced tuesday that michelle obama will campaign in six states, where several senate democrats are in trouble. >> i think she will go out and make a forceful and positive case for what this administration has done. >> reporter: tuesday, senate democrats tried and failed to deliver on two issues that motivate liberal voters, ending the don't ask, don't tell policy. >> we've got thousands of americans who are patriotic who want to serve, who happen to be gay or lesbian, and we're telling them, you can't. >> reporter: democrats also tried to pass a narrow immigration reform, where children brought here illegally could qualify for green cards by completing education. >> one can only draw the

conclusion that this is all about elections. >> reporter: democrats tied both gays in the military and immigration to a big military spending package, but republicans called it a ploy. >> a transparent attempt to show their special interest group s that they haven't forgot about them. >> and voted no. >> reporter: al franken choked up with emotion. >> i'll always have this, from doing uso tours, but seeing soldiers with their arms around each other and crying. >> reporter: in those uso shows, franken used humor to protest don't ask, don't tell and says some soldiers confided in him. >> and later those women came up to me and said, we're gay. >> reporter: the saying goes, "politics makes strange bedfellows." that's al franken back in the '90s, before he was a senator, on the same tv show with christine o'donnell, now a delaware tea party senate

candidate. o'donnell appeared on fox news tuesday night, saying she would talk issues and try to avoid more controversy. >> i'm not going to do anymore national media, because that is -- this is my focus. delaware's my focus. >> reporter: that, she says, is advice given to her by sarah palin. who released a new video tribute to the tea party, and notably palin never used the word "republican." >> this party that we call the tea party is the future of politics and i am proud to get to be here today. >> and former president bill clinton is giving some advice to democrats as well, telling them not to get caught up in all of the tea party attention and to recognize the anger that those sorts of candidates are tapping into among voters. and also today, vice president biden, well, he's campaigning too, working on behalf of senator blanche lincoln of arkansas, who's one of those democrats considered to be very vulnerable this year. matt, meredith? >> kelly o'donnell, thank you

very much. it is 7:05 and here matt. now to a big battle brewing in alaska. incumbent senator lisa murkowski recently lost the republican primary there, but she's not going away quietly. instead, she's launched a write-in campaign to save her seat, and that's infuriated some of her fellow republicans. we'll talk to senator murkowski in just a couple of minutes, but first, nbc's lee cowan is in anchorage with the latest. lee, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. yeah, a lot of senator murkowski's colleagues not only in washington, but among the party as a whole, including those here in alaska, are really frustrated by the fact that she's continuing to push this write-in campaign. after all, as you said, she lost the primary. most people at that point would say, it's game over, but murkowski insists it's her backers who wanted her to give this one more shot. it's just before dawn at the local diner in anchorage, and just as a fresh pot of coffee is being brewed, embattled senator lisa murkowski is brewing a fresh campaign. >> we just needed more of you. but we're going to give you another choice, chance to do it. >> reporter: alaska's senate

race was turned on its head when murkowski lost the gop primary to a little-known lawyer named joe miller, a tea party favorite. miller's victory should have been the nail in murkowski's incumbency, but it wasn't. she stunned alaska last sunday by asking her supporters to write her name on the ballot anyway. >> they tell us, this is impossible. you cannot do it. alaskans can't figure out how to fill in an oval and spell m-u-r-k-o-w-s-k m-u-r-k-o-w-s-k-i?! >> reporter: but in one of her first ads out of the box, her name on the website was misspelled, lacking a crucial "o." not a great start for a write-in candidate who some are now characterizing as a sore loser. >> i'm more concerned what the people of alaska are saying about me as opposed to what's being said back in washington, d.c. as far as i know, not too many of them can actually vote.

>> reporter: most analysts agree, she's got an uphill battle at best. >> how do you tell the voters, you made a mistake? you were wrong. now elect me. missed it the first time, now get it the second time, and spell my name right, or some semblance of it, while you're at it. >> reporter: the gop is steadfastly backing miller, a staunch conservative who says he's not worried about murkowski. >> i think what we have is, you know, basically a move to embrace her from the liberal left, more so than from the conservative right. >> reporter: he's a yale and west point grad who campaigned on a pledge to phase out social security and medicaid. he even called unemployment insurance unconstitutional. >> it's not just that we're broken fiscally, that this country is nearing bankruptcy, but it's also this concept that the federal government has gone far beyond what was intended. >> reporter: he was buoyed by more than $500,000 from the tea party express, and a last-minute endorsement by sarah palin, the former alaska governor who actually beat murkowski's own father to get the job back in

2006. >> i would suggest that the tea party coming in, an outside group, a california-based group, setting their sights on me, saying that i am not republican enough for them, i do believe that they influenced the outcome of this primary election in a substantiative way. >> reporter: now she says, the gloves are off. miller says he's ready. now, still, matt, there are a lot of people who say that murkowski does have a shot here. she's got a lot of money, she's only got about six weeks left to spend it, and she still has one of the most recognizable names in alaska politics. >> all right. lee cowan in anchorage for us this morning. lee, thanks very much. senator lisa murkowski is also in anchorage this morning. senator, thanks for waking up early. good morning. >> you bet. thank you, matt. >> so when i read the books on politics, the system worked like this. candidate loses primary, candidate endorses winner in primary, candidate works hard for that other candidate, even

for the greater good of the party, and then candidate rides off into the sunset. you read a different book, apparently? >> well, we're writing the book, at this point in time. i'll tell you, what is going on here in alaska is about providing -- providing alaskans a choice in this election. i did not prevail in that primary, but what happened after that primary was an uprising. from the people in the state of alaska saying, lisa, you cannot end this. please stay in this race. please give us a choice. it was an outpouring of thousands of alaskans from all over the stays. and in response to that, what do you do? >> but all candidates have staunch backers, but the people of alaska spoke a couple of weeks ago. you gave them a choice and they made a choice and they went with a political outsider named joe

miller. >> and in fairness, 85% of the alaskan electorate did not have an opportunity to participate in that. so what i am doing is responding to their request, please give us a choice. give us a voice to guide alaska into the future. so this is a tough call, absolutely. it's not been done since strom thurmond in 1954, was what i'm doing here, what i'm doing is trying to respond to the people of the state of alaska. >> what you're doing, also, is raising the anger of a lot of republican senators. let me read you some comments. karl rove says this run is, quote, sad and sorry. republican senator jim demint claims you've put your own personal interests ahead of everything else. and your party in washington is voting today whether to strip you of your ranking membership role on the energy committee. so how do you respond to their words and their actions? >> what i'm doing is i am putting my state, the state of alaska, before my party.

and you know what, in today's political world, that's practically unheard of. people can't believe that i would do this. that i would make this effort, make this push. why don't i just fade quietly into the sunset, as you say? i'm doing it because the people of alaska have asked me to do so. >> let me just ask you to look beyond -- >> i'm putting everything on the line to do it. >> let me ask you to look beyond alaska for a second. this strategy is tough to succeed with. it's also risky for your party. so would you suggest that a mike castle in delaware or a trey grayson in kentucky do the same thing? should they run as write-in candidates and risk splitting their party? >> i don't know what the mind-set is in delaware or kentucky amongst the electorate. i can only be responsive to the people that i represent here. when you have -- again, you have thousands of people stand up and say, please give us this

opportunity. when you have 4,000 people sign on to a facebook page in a matter of a week, who are saying, please give us this chance, so i'm not going to advise mike castle or trey grayson, i'm listening to alaskans and i'm putting alaska first. it's as simple as that. and it's difficult for the political insiders to understand that. what would motivate somebody like myself, whose got a political future out there, to put it all on the line for the people that you represent? it's really about who i represent and who i am. >> and we're going to see how it all turns out. senator lisa murkowski, as i said, thanks for getting up early, i appreciate it. >> and hey, i want to just make a special shout-out, because we're really proud here in alaska of melissa and jeremy. jeremy is actually stationed here, as one of our airmen in elmendorf, so congratulations to them. >> that's nice of you. probably the first time "today's" wedding couple made it into the first half hour. senator murkowski, thanks.

let's get a check of the rest of the top stories if tamron hall who's filling in for ann at the news desk. >> a new book by bob woodard is outlining deep divisions in the white house over the war in afghanistan, with advisers arguing over the war and some doubti ining if the president's strategy will work. chuck todd joins us. so, chuck, reportedly some big disagreements we're talking about. >> reporter: that's right, tamron. we're hearing about disagreements, particularly from the diplomatic side and the military side of the presidential -- of the president's advisers. now, the white house is already reacting to the book this morning. senior administration official putting out a fairly lengthy memo about the book saying, look, these policy divisions were well known at the time. this is the way the president operates. he wants different point of views. he wants a lot of information before he comes to a situation. so in many ways, they're trying to downplay these divisions and saying, hey, nothing to see here, tamron. we shall see if there's personnel recriminations, though, down the road. >> meantime, chuck, another

economic adviser is leaving. >> reporter: that's right. larry summers, chairman of the national economic council, he is now the third member of the president's economic team to announce his departure from the white house in the last 60 days. the budget director has already left. they're trying to get a new one in already. christina romer, the chief economist, she's already out. the way folks are looking at it around here, they're trying to find someone from the business world, from the corporate world, who will also not upset labor unions. and they would also like a little bit of diversity. so if they could find a woman ceo to replace larry summers, that's what they would like. and mr. summers, tamron, is headed back to harvard. >> interesting times. thank you very much, chuck. today congress holds a hearing on the recent salmonella outbreak and massive egg recall linked to two egg farms in iowa. the outbreak sickened more than 1,000 people. the heads of those two farms have been called to testify. today the u.n. is announcing a global health campaign aimed at saving the lives of 16 million mothers and children

worldwide over the next five years. worldwide, every year, an estimated 8 million children die before their 5th birthday. overseas markets are mostly lower this morning after the fed decided to leave interest rates alone. cnbc's trish regan is at the new york stock exchange, so, trish, what are we watching today? >> watching gold and the u.s. dollar, tamron. gold prices, they're tending to go up. the u.s. dollar is going down. and that's all because of what the fed had to say yesterday. basically, the fed is saying, growth is going to be pretty slow for the foreseeable future. they're even concerned about very low inflation, which, of course, we all know can lead to deflation, where wages and prices go down. a very hard thing to combat. one of the big questions is, what can the fed do right now about the economy? and there's actually very little, because interstaest rat are effectively zero, but the fed is making large purchases of u.s. treasury bonds, which effectively helps to keep interest rates on everything else very, very low right now. >> all right, trish, thank you very much. this morning, paris hilton

was kicked out of japan. she was sent packing two days after she pleaded guilty to a drug charge in las vegas. japan has strict immigration laws that bar those convicted of drug offenses. and in cambridge, massachusetts, drivers can get upset and relaxed at the same time. parking tickets now come with instructions for yoga. it is 7:17, back to matt, meredith and al. >> that's really going to help. >> here in the city they come with instructions for kung fu. thanks tamron. mr. roker, how are you doing? >> i got your downward dog right here. >> really? >> let's take a look and see what's going on. we do have some strong storms, risk of these storms from minneapolis, waterloo book to north platte. we had some pretty strong storms move into the northwest yesterday. and along a frontal system, there's storms brewing through

northern and southern wisconsin on into minnesota, we could be talking two to five inches of rain before good morning. we have clear skies over much of the area, but the winds are really up. you can see the flag blowing here. thanks to a trough it is the first day of fall and it feels like it. current temperatures 40s and 50s. there are the winds, especially strong over the area bridges and coming through the passes as well. we are talking about cool weather today, forecast highs making the 60s and 70s but this weekend a warmup is coming our way. we'll see inland temperatures getting up into the 90s. summer and fall. >> that's your latest weather. there are new details in the tragic death of a police chief's daughter in north carolina. hundreds attended funeral services for 23-year-old valerie hamilton tuesday as the man accused of killing her appeared in a new york state courtroom. good morning, tom. >> reporter: meredith, good morning to you, that man accused

of killing valerie hamilton is expected to be brought back here to the charlotte area soon. the investigation is focusing on several places including the storage facility where hamilton's body was discovered and now more questions about the cause of death. meryl hamilton and his family arrived at the funeral for the law man's daughter behind a police escort. joining them at the church were family, friends and hundreds of law enforcement officers, passing treats lined with purple ribbons, they came to mourn and remember 23-year-old valerie hamilton, the police chief's daughter who wanted to work with children. >> people all over the nation are people that supported the chief. he's a good chief and we have all just been heart broken for him. >> reporter: after a nationwide manhunt, 34-year-old michael neil harvey was arrested monday charged with hamilton's murder. >> we had indications from the county sheriff's office in

charlotte, north carolina that the defendant is wanted on charges of murder. >> reporter: the convicted sex offender with a long history of drug abuse said he would not fight extradition back to north carolina where the investigation of hamilton's murder continues. hamilton's body showed no signs of what they call traditional physical trauma. according to police witnesses hamilton voluntarily left the bar last week with harvey and went to his house where the two used drugs. witnesses say something went wrong and hamilton needed, quote, immediate medical attention but harvey never called for help. instead, investigators say harvey moved hamilton's body and made great efforts to clean up any potential crime scene before he disposed of her body. hamilton's body was found this past weekend in a storage shed. >> i'm telling you what, if you've got kids, you've got daughters, my daughter was perfect and what my daughter did or didn't do or whatever, in these daddies eyes and those

mama's eyes my daughter was perfect. >> reporter: among the mo mourners -- >> we all work for the district attorney's office here, we believe in justice, we fight for justice and we know that valerie will get justice in this case. >> reporter: and investigators are still waiting on toxicology results and also results from a sexual assault examination kit, both will be able to shed more light on what happened to valerie. the volatile custody future against actor mel gibson and his estranged girlfriend oksana. people! look at you!

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good morning, everybody. the time is zen 7:26. it's a wet start to the day for families in one east bay city. crews are working to fix another big water main break. christie smith is live in pleasant hill with the latest on the cleanup. >> reporter: good morning, brent. well, the water service is back on to the 40 or so homes that had lost it earlier but we're now about 12 hours into this and the pipe is still not fixed. the broken main is inside the hole that you see there and it's still pressurized while they make repairs because it's really just part of the grid system. they have worked the valves around it to get service back to the homes. this is the second break on this

pipe in days. meantime if you drive morello avenue, they're wanting you to know that it may close down to one lane or close down altogether after 8:00 a.m. reporting live in pleasant hill, christie smith, today in the bay. >> thanks. one of the places where folks will run into congestion and detours. >> we're trying to get through the commute at the bay bridge toll plaza but there was an incident on the incline causing more of a backup going back into the maze. once you're on the bridge the incident cleared and it's a smooth drive in toward san francisco. livermore still slow there even though a couplewae ad ocints y.halearedthe roadm y.

our state is in a real mess. and i'm not going to give you any phony plans or snappy slogans that don't go anywhere. we have to make some tough decions. we have to lthewiur onsin mea. we have got to take the power from the state capitol and move it down to the local level, closer to the people. and no new taxes, without voter approval. we have got to pull together not as republicans or as democrats but as californians first. at this stage in my life, i'm prepared to do exactly that.

a little cool today and a little breezy. it will be sunny throughout the day. we're forecasting highs today only in the 60s and in the 70s. if you want some more warmth we actually have it coming your way. on the seven-day forecast we start to warm up tomorrow. by the time we get to the weekend, inland areas in the 90s. more local news coming up in half an hour. the "today" show returns in less than a minute. have a great morning.

7:30 now on this wednesday morning, september 22, 2010. our friends are busy soaking up the last rays of summer, fall officially arrives tonight at 11:09 eastern time. i'm meredith viera alongside matt lauer. and ahead a growing concern over a popular form of birth control. >> nearly 30 million prescriptions have been written for the birth control patch, but does it carry too much risk. we'll hear from a mother who believes the patch is to blame for her daughter's death. and we'll hear what experts are saying about this. also ahead the british teenager at the center of that

beauty pageant firestorm after she was crowned america's perfect teen. we'll talk to her live. and all next week, nbc news will be taking a hard look at education in this country, we're calling it education nation, we'll kick things off monday on "today" with an exclusive interview with president obama. he'll share his thoughts on our nation's schools, what's going wrong and what can be done different. and you can submit your questions to the president on "today" show.com. that's a week long education nation. but we begin this half hour with a bitter fight between mel gibson and his estranged girlfriend. new e-mail surfaced this week in which oksana seemed to forgive the actor for those recorded rants on the telephone. we're going to talk to the

lawyers about that in a live interview. >> reporter: the battle between mel gibson and oksana exploded this summer with the release of those now infamous audiotapes. >> i will make your [ bleep ] life measurable, already? >> reporter: his ex-girlfriend and mother of his younger child, the two are locked in a bitter custity battle. >> what kind of man is that, hitting a woman when she's holding a child in her hands, breaking her teeth why is in the face, what kind of man is that? >> reporter: showing oksana visiting an orphanage in chernobyl, holding and caring for six children. they also show -- a departure from the summer long drama. >> you have evidence on both

sides, each side pointing to the other, each side accusing the other of making criminal acts against one another. >> reporter: gibson's camp has accused oksana's camp of extortion. gibson has tried to keep a low profile but just last week he had this run in from the paparazzi. >> i'm wondering if you hit oksana, do you think you'll ever make a movie in this town? >> you've got a lot of dialogue, don't you? >> reporter: gibson still has the support of some hollywood heavyweights, jody foster said in the october issue of more magazine, when you love a friend, you don't abandon them when they are struggling. >> the d.a.'s option is to file

charges against one or the other of them, to dismiss the case or to do further investigation. >> martin -- two attorneys representing the oksana. martin, i know you're new to the legal team, so i'm going to start with you, daniel, you just released these pictures and video of oksana and you're speaking out on her behalf for the first time, why now. >> because she's a domestic violence victim, she was beaten, she was terrorized and all the media seems to focus on whether she extorted mel gibson, when in fact it's just about money, this has never been about money, what they claim is extortion truthfully are letters that profess her love and caring for him. and this is what happens to

domestic violence victims, they're vilified and we're trying to set the record straight, you have the videos and the pictures that show who she really is. >> did she ever ask for money in exchange for not releasing photos or video. >> anybody who says that is either misinformed or lying just to hurt her, she is simply a violence victim who is being pigeon holed into a false light so that the truth of her allegations and her situation are ignored. >> if she is a violence victim as you say, why haven't you filed a case against mel gibson at this point? what's taking so long? >> i think at this point, the district attorney's office is really in the driver's seat in terms of these charges. they're very serious charges and to just file a lawsuit and fight about money is not the right thing right now. he has to be brought to justice for what he did. and mr. coolly, the district attorney of los angeles is in

charge of that and we defer to him at this point. >> let me go back to this whole matter of extortion, mel gibson's camp from the very beginning claimed that oksana secretly made those tapes in an attempt to extort money from him. she admits that she made the phone calls and she secretly recorded them. she admits she broke the photo of her teeth, the broken veneers, why would she do that? >> anybody who's beaten or threatened has the right to document it to show what happened. otherwise mel gibson is going to be one of the most popular love superstars in the world against this woman. she has a right to prove what happened to her, anyone who says she demanded money in exchange for holding these back is a liar and i dare them to come on the show, show their face on this show or any show and take responsibility for that

statement because if they do, they'll pay a price for that. >> is she responsible for either selling those conversations to radar online or handing them over, leaking them to radar online? >> no, absolutely not. in fact, those are worth probably a million dollars to whoever leaked them and she is broke. so it just did not happen, she would not do it. in fact the evidence will show and we will eventually be able to bring forth proof that she tried to hold back any publicity that would hurt mel gibson because a battered woman will both protect the abuser even as she's been abused. >> who else would have access to that kind of material, the private phone conversations? >> well, many, many people had access and we have very strong suspicions as to where they were leaked from. along with the letters and the e-mails, none of which came from our side whatsoever. but we do think we know who

leaked them. what we can do about it, i don't know. marty garvis is the leading first amendment lawyer in the country, and he's sitting here and i think he knows there's a lot of protection even for the vile act of leaking these materials. >> what do you want the public to know about oksana at this point? >> i think you should know something about her, she's someone who started playing the piano when she was 3 years old. she's a concert concert pianois given a number of concerts over the past three years trying to raise money for the injured children. so this is a woman who has a life of her own, which is not part of the hollywood, which is a part of the life that mel gibson has lived, not someone who's being accurately portrayed as dan pointed out in the media. she's a woman of stature and

accomplishment. she's also a songwriter, a composer, which she studied along with piano. so this is a significant woman who is being as dan put it maligned. >> martin garvis, dan horowitz, thank you for coming on. now let's get a check of the weather from al. >> "today's" weather was brought to you by centrum ultrawomen's multivitt mines. >> and we have got some nice ladies from cornyn, new york. how many kids between you. >> 21. >> 21, wow, they're all at home with a big bowl of captain crunch. thanks for coming down. he opics, we have got going on tropical storm lisa, that's just kind of sitting there, we have got a tropical wave in the caribbean, we're watching that, and we have also got tropical depression georgette, it's going to be moving up by later on

thursday into the southwest, already bringing clouds and showers over the next few days. we're looking at anywhere from one to three inches of rain from parts of colorado on into new mexico. that's wh sunny skies over san jose this morning. the winds are still up and it still feels a bit cooler. the forecast for the first day of fall does call for the winds to stay up. 44 degrees right now in napa, only 43 in gilroy. our forecast highs today will make it into the 60s and 70s, but like i said, breezy around the water. also breezy in some of the passes this morning. if you want some warmer weather, we have it coming your way. that's right, this weekend things warming up into the 90s inland. >> that's your latest weather. and up next, is the birth tion haspatch too dangerous?esta today's" investigation has uncovered right after this. [ female announcer ] there's complete.

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we're back now at 7:43, and this morning "today" investigates a popular form of berth control that some say is too dangerous. >> it's very scary, we're talking about this, it's the birth control patch and there's growing evidence it's far more risky than the pill, causing strokes and blood clots. in fact we have uncovered it's maker johnson & johnson may have known about the problems for years and yet, they're still selling it "today."

>> look at this, it's the birth control pack, ortho evra. >> reporter: when it first hit the market in 2002 t birth control patch ortho evra was a big hit. "time" magazine called it one of the best inventions of the year. doctors have written nearly 40 million prescriptions for. but as sales surged, so did claims of injury and even death. >> she just sort of collapsed in the doorway. and she was gone instantly. >> reporter: aid debrisiana duffy was a student in college and in perfect health. she had a serious boyfriend and told her mom that she wanted to be responsible so their doctor prescribed ortho evra. >> this is a johnson & johnson product, it's the most trusted brand for baby products so why would i question their berth

control patch? >> reporter: but one night in her storm room, adrianna fell to the floor, the girl who had been the picture of health was dead. her family said that's when they learned the patch may be to blame. in fact more than 2,400 women claim ortho evra hurt them too and lawsuits claimed more than two dozen have died many from blood clots, that's exactly what killed adrianna. now her family like others are sues johnson & johnson. >> how many other young women have to die from using this product before it's off the market? >> reporter: some say what makes the patch too dangerous is the high level of estrogen it delivers, 50% more estrogen than others. when you swallow the pill, it's a quick hit that quickly dissolves in your system. but when you use the patch, estrogen keeps flowing into your bloodstream for an entire week. >> with the patch, it goes up and just sort of stays up and

there's no relief of the body of the woman from getting estrogen. >> reporter: and research shows that can lead to deadly blood clots and strokes. nbc news has obtained private internal documents from johnson & johnson, the maker of the patch that suggests they knew about the risks years ago. according to these patient reports between 2002 and 2004, ortho evra was 12 times more likely to cause strokes and 18 times more likely to cause blood clot than the pill. and there's more, in 2005, this j & j vice president says i have been involved in the safety evaluation of ortho evra since it came on the market. compelling evidence, he says the company ignored, therefore he wrote, it became impossible for me to stay in my position as vp. our "today" investigation also

found this lawsuit by another vice president. he's suing johnson & johnson for unlawful termination after he says he blew the whistle on the patch's dangerously high levels of estrogen, on even before it came to market, the company, he says, disregarded his concerns and launched the product anyway. >> the company knew about much of it if not all of it. they thought correctly that it wouldn't sell as well if you told people how dangerous it was. >> dr. wolf has peated the fda to pull the patch off the market. in the meantime, johnson & johnson continue settling lawsuits quietly. according to bloomberg, the company has paid out an estimated $68 million to victims, a small number compared to the 1$1.6 billion they have made on sales of the patch. >> they're making a significant profit on this product, off the backs of people like adrianna.

>> reporter: in 2006, j & j did make changes to the package insert. >> j & j would say look, we put all of the risks right there on the warning label and it's up to you, the consumer to read it. >> there's nothing in that warning that could help me understand that a patch would kill a healthy young 17-year-old woman. >> reporter: still not everyone is against the patch. we spoke with several doctors who continued to prescribe it. after all, they say, it's fda appro approved, yet the health risks are higher than the pill, but they say, they're still relatively small and worth it to protect women from becoming pregnant. but dr. wolfe says it's not worth it, that ortho evra is not only riskier, but also has a higher dropout rate than the pill and is no better at preventing pregnancy. >> we don't ask -- we think it's

quite clear that the risks outweigh the benefits. >> reporter: we wanted to speak with johnson & johnson on camera, but the company declined our request for an interview. in an e-mail the company also declined to answer any of our questions about the match, citing ongoing litigation. instead j & j says it's regularly disclosed scientific data to the fda, the medical community and the public in a timely manner. and when used according to the fda-approved label, ortho evra is safe and effective. but this mother says the patch killed her daughter and she wants it off the market for good. >> most people that have sued j & j over this have settled with confidential settlement agreements. >> before i take money and know that other young women are going to die from this and other mothers are going to be in my situation, i'm going all the way to trial. i want them accountable for allowing this to happen.

>> reporter: we asked the fda why haven't you made a decision yet, two years later, whether to pull this product off the market? a spokeswoman told us it's a complicated issue that takes time to review. by the way experts say you should never stop using birth control, including the patch, after everything you saw without talking to your doctor. it's 7:50. ahead on a much lighter note, jenna bush hager goes after my record on a nascar track. ♪

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good morning, everybody. the time is 7:56. i'm brent cannon. checking your morning commute with mike. >> there's a lot of red chicklets that means very slow northbound 280. up towards cupertino very slow for that drive as well as northbound 85. 87 and 101 not so bad so watch those east to west connectors right now. northbound is listed on the freeways for both of those areas. westbound 580 still showing a slowdown through livermore. pretty typical approaching highway 84. sunol, the slowing coming out of pleasanton but not as bad as the previous two days this week. oakland 880 moves smoothly past the coliseum. really slow at the transition to the toll plaza with the backup back into the maze. the san mateo bridge moves very

smoothly. i see the camera shaking from time to time. there's some gusty wind there. >> yes, there is. it's the first day of fall and it feels like it. temperatures on the cool side. our forecast high will only make it to the 60s and 70s. as you can see, we are still forecasting a lot of sunshine. 71 degrees in fairfield, 64 degrees in redwood city and 70 degrees in los gatos. that's the noon temperature. by the time we hit 4:00, it's still feeling a bit cool. if you want some heat, we have it for you this weekend. forecasting temperatures to get back into the 90s. in just a bit brent is back with more news. [ mom ] my son ryan didn't know his voulez-vous from his frere jacques... [ speaking french ] [ mom ] ...so he decided to study in paris. ♪ to see french masterpieces with his very own eyes.

we even linked our citibank account to his so when his account ran low we just transferred funds. i just hope the language isn't a barrier. bonjour. [ mom ] my ryan can be very shy. [ male announcer ] from linked accounts to citi mobile we make it simple to manage your finances. what's your story? citibank can help you write it. we make it simple to manage your finances. greed. the wealthiest corporations. billions in profits and bonuses. and the sacramento politicians just gave these same corporations a new billion dollar handout... paid for by cuts to education and public safety with no guarantee of creating one new job. but we can change this by voting yes on proposition 24. prop 24 repeals the billion dollar giveaway and protects our schools and communities. yes on prop 24. it's time to give us a break... not the big corporations.

new this morning, state budget negotiations are headed to southern california today. state senate pro tem darrell steinberg is flying to governor schwarzenegger's home near los angeles. the governor has been home sick from negotiations the past two days. negotiations are now supposed to start at 1:00 this afternoon. it has been 84 days since the budget was due. more local news coming up in half an hour and the "today" show returns in less than a minute. have a great morning. see you back in a bit.

8:00 now on a wednesday morning, it's the 22nd day of september, 2010. > 8:00 now on a wednesday morning, it's the 22nd day of september, 2010. summer hanging on for the next couple of hours. we're going to get into the 80s today and maybe a little bit warmer tomorrow. is that right? >> just a little. >> we're loving these people stopping by our plaza. outside this morning, along with meredith viera and al roker. coming up we're going to talk about this beauty pageant that's making headlines on both sides of the atlantic. >> it sure is. she's from wales.

some wonder how somebody from wales could be america's perfect teen. but she is. we'll talk to her. >> she looks like so can be can ron hall's little sister. also ahead, jenna bush hager is here, she recently jumped behind the wheel in nascar with tony stewart. i understand her only goal was to shatter my record two years ago, which would not be hard. we're going to find out how she did. >> we're eight days from melissa and jeremy's wedding right here on the plaza. and today just ahead, your pick for the bridesmaids dresses and we're going to sample the wedding cake. >> tamron hall is filling in while ann is on assignment, she's got the headlines. hi. >> good morning. with his party and his health care reforms under attack by republicans, president obama will mark six months since he signed the patient bill of rights before heading to new york for democratic fund-raisers. on tuesday, the white house announced that the first lady, michelle obama will campaign this fall for senate democrats

facing tough election fights. meantime the white house is playing down reports that president obama's national security team is sharply split over the troop surge strategy in afghanistan. according to "the new york times," a new book by bob woodward details disagreements by top diplomatic and political advisors. >> and it's being called corruption on steroids. eight current and former city officials spent the night in jail after being arrested for misappropriates more than $5 million in city funds, nbc's george lewis has details. george, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, it's been an angry summer. people learned city be officials awarded themselves huge six figure salaries at taxpayer expense. now those officials face serious felony charges. >> anything you have to stay about the charges against you? >> city manager robert rizzo busted at his huntington beach

home had been pulling down $800,000 in salary, twice what president obama makes. his total benefits came to about $1.5 million annually. >> the charges accuse rizzo of being responsible for at least $4.3 million of the city's losses. >> rizzo, one of eight city officials present and former charged with numerous accounts of misappropriating public funds. when police went after mayor oscar hernandez, they had to break down the door of his house with a battering ram. >> this was greed and theft accomplished by deceit and secrecy. >> reporter: the district attorney making it clear he's going after anyone connected with this. >> i would charge my mother if i had evidence against my mother. >> i need the respect of everybody. >> reporter: in july, when people found out about the astronomical salaries the city officials were getting, they stormed city council meetings demanding their resignations. and when news came of the

arrests on tuesday, some citizens literally jumped for joy. >> we did it! i'm happy. this is what i was waiting for from the very beginning. >> we just love the idea of all the city council going to jail in handcuffs. >> reporter: the california attorney general running for governor is suing the bell city officials trying to recover much of the money. >> when you see it, you can smell it. and this stinks to high heaven. >> reporter: today when former city manager rizzo appears in court, the district attorney will ask the judge to set his bail at $3.2 million. los angeles county board of supervisors is asking the attorney general to appoint a temporary overseer to run day-to-day business. the heads of two iowa egg farms are testifying today before congress. investigators have questions about cleanliness at the farms and about evidence of salmonella detected over the past two years. as many as 1,600 people were

sickened by the latest outbreak. a rare appearance by mohammed ali, launching a global peace initiative urging kids to knock out hunger by growing food from around the world. it is 8:05, now let's get another check of the weather from al. >> he's still the graetdest. thank you, tamron. already, say happy birthday to your mimaw. >> mom doing a little stage directing. hold on there, kids. these are beautiful young ladies. let's check your weather. see what's going on. we'll show you right now. columbia, south carolina, wis, partly sunny, hot, 92 degrees. afternoon temperatures will drop, going to be way above

normal right here into the northeast and the midwest with temperatures in the 80s and 90s, 90s in the southwest, they're looking at rain, remnants of georgette coming up. causing some problems there. risk of strong storms in the central plains, beautiful in the pacific northwest, 68 and sunny in seattle. still some rip currents in northern new england. showers working their way into haven't seen a lot of this this morning, some low clouds. this afternoon we will all be enjoying sunshine. it is our first day of fall. today 70 degrees. tomorrow 78. looking ahead to the weekend, it is going to feel like summer. forecasting highs back into the 90s inland, 70s along the coastline. >> and by the way, let's take another look at tamron and her little sister. >> and by the way, let's take another look at tamron and her little sister.

>> oh, this is wrong, i'm 40 and you're putting me next to a teenager, that's wrong. >> that's right, because she's your little sister. >> thanks, al. >> anything i can do to help. >> and when we come back, that young lady was just crowned america's perfect teen. we'll speak to her about her controversial win right after these messages. ,000 miles. it was always... [ laughing ] that seat's not happening without a big miles upcharge. a miles upcharge wasn't part of the deal. was i supposed to go without my wife? [ elevator bell dings ] [ grunting ] haha, that was awkward. so we upgraded to the venture card from capital one. we've had it with the games. [ male announcer ] don't pay miles upcharges. don't play games. get the flight you want with the venture card at capitalone.com. what's in your wallet?

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the $20 dinner for two, only at chili's. back now at 8:10, with fallout over the controversial winner of a beauty pageant in florida. we'll talk to the woman who was crowned america's perfect teen. >> reporter: america's perfect teen lives just across the ocean over there in wales. so what did we have to do to find our shining paragone of teen hood? we're talking about pageants here, so this is very serious stuff. oh, how the american girls tried bringing out all the heavy artillery. the butterfly wings, extraining outside fabrics. >> one young lady brought a live cougar on stage.

>> what? >> it's very, very fun and exciting. >> reporter: a live cougar couldn't win this thing? little did they know, a british invasion was underway, and her revolutionary unbig hair didn't frighten and confuse the other contestants. >> what is your perfect facebook status? >> i don't really have one. . >> reporter: the british accent might have been a sparking red flag, her parents who own a vacation home in florida was about to sweep this thing. >> she had an unusual black cape. >> reporter: even she seemed in disbelief at how easy it was to beat the yank at their own game. >> she came all the from the england a and now she's america's perfect teen. >> director and master of all things fabulous who can be seen

on the cable show "little miss perfect" defends her every rain shown and feather. >> when you say that girl had it, she truly did. >> reporter: the british press has devoured the victory, even dhoe the runner up as graciously accepted that america's perfect teen is a brit. >> she met the qualifications and she was awarded the title. >> reporter: still it inevitably begs the question. >> what's going to become of this nation. >> reporter: so if you listen to that sparkly megacrown, an nisha has won a scholarship here in the u.s. so you may want to keep an eye on her. ho

hopefully she won't inspire fake british accents although for some of them that might be more polite. >> anisha, congratulations. >> thank you very much. good morning, meredith. >> what's been the reaction over you winning america's perfect teen? >> well, it's been quite mixed, i think i have had a lot of media attention, but personally, wise, i don't tend to mix my private live with my pageant life so nobody in school really knows until well today really, what i've been doing, what's been going on. >> there's been a lot of talk by some folks who feel -- irregardless of you or your qualifications in this pageant about america's perfect teen than somebody who is not an american would be allowed to participate. >> i think the pageant is a greet student for so many girls all over the world.

>> at the time that you were in the pageant, at any time did any of the other contestants raise questions about the fact that you're from wales and not from america? >> all the girls were very welcoming, at every pageant i do, they always are, they welcome me and they didn't say anything nasty to me whatsoever. i was having the best week of my life to be honest. >> why do you think there's been in reaction by some people? do you think it's sour grapes? i know your mom does. >> i think any competition, if you don't win, you're always going to feel maybe a little bit disheartened and that can sometimes lead to such comments. but i think that after thinking about it and realizing that what happens, happens, it always leads to better thing in my opinion, while it may lead to not winning, but there's other things around the corner.

yes, there were a few comments, but now everyone's welcomed me greatly. >> what sets you apart from the other girls besides that accent? >> i think it probably was my accent and i think that every girl has something special whether it's because you're outgoing or whether it's because of your personality and i personally believe that my accent did help, or maybe it's my hair cut, but i'm sure i'm what the judges were looking for that day and i tried to bring my full personality and my fierceness to the stage. >> and what's next for you, i know you want among other things this scholarship to study broadcasting in the states, is that something you hope to pursue? >> i'm going to finish my a level in the uk first. >> thank you, anisha. >> thank you very much. and up next, jennifer hager, nascar driver? who was it like to fly around n rtrack at 134 ming aw siguo

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nascar driver tony stewart. i have to say someone has been strutting around the studio this morning, jenna, good morning, nice to see you. >> you know, there's nothing as exhilarating or a bit scary as driving tony stewart's race car. and though it wasn't a race, matt might be amazed by what he's about to see, the proof is in the video, i definitely put the pedal to the metal. tony stewart is a two-time nascar champion, a legend on the racetrack, while he competes with white knuckle, heart pounding speed, up to 200 miles an hour. which i thought sounded just great. i have a need for speed. so i joined the tony stewart smoke show in dallas, texas, an annual training event meant for kids where participants learn to drive a race car and they learn from the best. the last race at the texas motor speedway was not his best.

he led a nine-car pileup coming out of turn four. my first lesson, a reminder of the power of concrete. >> it's basically a yard sale, with a lot of spare parts for cheap. >> that's right, there are crashes in nascar, i forgot about that part. >> hi, how are you? >> trackside, tony loads into car number 14, ready to show me how it's done. >> what do i have to do to stay alive in this? >> all you have to do is hold on, and i'll do the rest. >> you promise? >> yes. >> and he did just that. tony hit 165 miles an hour and i felt every bit of it, taking on deep corners, my head knocking against the window. one last time around the track and there's just one word for it. oh, i can breathe. it was very fun. but now it's my turn to take the wheel.

>> just a reminder, do not mess up my ride. >> i'm not going to go as fast as you, but i am going to beat matt lauer. >> oh, there's no doubt, you're going to beat matt lauer. >> tony the tiger? >> yeah. >> will you roar? i can't believe tony's letting me drive his car. you can't easter? don't mess up that ride. i was ready to go. somehow my sweet ride was not. >> push the clutch in. >> the clutch in? >> the clutch. >> push the clutch. okay, pop it. that's good. >> i feel like a race car champion.

and i'm firing on all cylinders. >> we're going to die. >> coming around turn four. attorney has another plan. >> okay, slow down. >> all too soon, the ride ends and i missed the turn from pit road. >> good job! okay, right there. you're all good. >> i'm sorry i missed the southern. not quite the magic finish i imagined, but then came the fantastic news, i clocked in at 134 miles an hour. matt lauer had only gone 123. 134! he's just matt lauer. what part was most frightening? >> the part where i'm tugging on the steering wheel to the right and you're tugging on it to the left.

that could have been the most terrifying part. >> i managed to terrify tony stewart, but at least i got us back in one piece. >> jenna, bush, hager! >> yeah! >> thanks to tony stewart, it looks like i might have a bright future as a nascar driver. or maybe not, tony stewart, annual smoke show benefits the children's charities and the tony stewart foundation and this year he raised more than $200,000 for kids. matt? >> i'm not talking to you either. >> i didn't mean to beat you. i didn't mean to, i thought there was no way i could do it. >> that's just an excuse. i had my kids in the back seat when i drove. >> everybody always pulls out the old kids excuse. >> how many times did you stop for directions around that turn? >> well, obviously i missed the turn. but i will say, my mom said i could on 55ur aeshon urho,,

so i apologize, i'm sorry, mom. >> we're back after your local news. good morning, everybody. time is 8:26. checking your morning commute. the bay bridge, you see the toll plaza, things backed up as it normally gets this time of day. taking a look at the new toll lanes, things get more sluggish than normally. meantime, want to check in with jennifer hill taking a look at our forecast. >> we have seen a few areas of low clouds. most of us have seen sunshine.

some cool temperatures across the area. by noon the 60s and 70s. first day of fall feels like it, but we are not hanging on to the fall like weather. 73 in concord, 68 in redwood city. a look at the seven-day forecast. that is when we see the big changes coming. looks like we had a cool summer. s inhe 90s.nd of fall forecast stick around with brent for more news.

the man accused of shooting a fremont police officer makes a court appearance today. he was accused of shooting todd young. he is expected to enter a plea today, he is charges with attempted murder and carjacking. have a great morning. see you back here in a bit.

8:39d -- 8:30 now on this wednesday morning, great day to be up and out this morning. we have a great crowd here in rockefeller plaza. we're going to announce the

bridesmaid's dresses for melissa and jeremy's wedding. >> mark pittman is in the kitchen right now and he's making some recipes this morning where he's concentrating on dishes that make you use less meat. there are possibly some things your doctor is not telling you which could affect your results when you go into the office. we'll look at some of those tests and tell you what you should be asking. and "newsweek" recently asked the question, why are his and hers spiking impossiblily good looking? >> the new tv show undercover, 1/2 of that crime fighting couple. i've been reading all the rev w reviews the paper, i don't know if you're looking at them, but they're fantastic.

>> and a lot of buzz about the casting. >> this is what the world looks like in 2010. and tv and movies traditionally have been slow to embrace what's going on. so hopefully we can inspire people to make this a regular and normal occurrence. >> but it's about a lot more than casting, there's more to the show. >> absolutely, there's action, drama, comedy. it's like a new millennium show. >> at the end of the day, it's a love story? >> it's between two people, ex-spies who left the game to become regular people and now they're pulled back into the cia. >> and it's interesting, earlier today al told me i looked like this ms. perfect teen pageant winner.

but i don't know. >> big premier, congratulations. we're pulling for you. >> thanks for having me. >> undercover premiers tonight at 8:00, 7:00 central time right here on nbc. >> look for al. let's get a check of the weather. >> let's check your weather. for today, we got a risk of strong storms, beautiful weather up and down the west coast, east coast not too bad, but we do have a lot of heat through the southeast, tomorrow more heavy rain up through the great lakes, on into the central plains, wet weather in the pacific northwest, sunny, hot through the gulf coast into the mid ohio and mississippi river valleys, sunshine in oakland. today we are forecasting highs

to feel rather fall like. the wind is still up thanks to the trough. the trough is not going to stick around very long. we are forecasting some much warmer weather. our forecast highs 70 inland and 74 in places like livermore. along the coastline in the 50s. this weekend, forecast highs back in the 90s even on the coastline i'm forecasting temperatures in the 70s. >> and that's your latest weather. eunice kennedy shriver founded the special olympics 42 years ago. this week the family will hold a eunice kennedy shriver day, in support of people with intellectual disabilities. eunice kennedy's nephew, good morning to you. how important is this to you? >> it's important to a lot of people. there's 3.5 million athletes around the world who now participate. there's 170 nations that

recognize eunice shriver day, there's major league baseball, the pac-10 conference, all of them are participating, we need coaches, we need volunteers, we need people who will come and work. this is lewis lopes, these are three proud special olympians. this is a two-time gold medalist from the 2010 china olympics. in softball and walking. and feel how heavy these are. >> you can see the emotion in your face, what it means to you. >> my 14-year-old daughter volunteered last summer and spent the whole summer working. for me, it was the best gift i have ever given her, it teaches us values, it teaches about inclusion, about solidarity,

unity. we can't go forward leaving our brothers and sisters behind. >> how can someone get involved? >> go to www.ceksday.com. that's eunice kennedy shriver day. we're going to see the bridesmaid's dresses and then we're going to sample some wedding cakes.

staid -- "today's" wedding modern love is brought to you by chevy. every vehicle is backed by a 100,000 mile/5-year power train limited warranty.

the big day is next thursday, this morning we are revealing a choice of the bridesmaid's dresses and sampling the wedding take. melissa mcmillan and jeremy gephart are our bride and groom. eight days away. >> we're so excited. >> you just got back from afghanistan, is this even sinking in for you yet, jeremy? >> it's starting to, but it's all coming way too fast. >> a lot in a short period of time. we're going to reveal the bridesmaids' dresses if you're ready. this is what the bridesmaids and the flower girl will be wearing. i think you recognize this dress. it's being worn by your real maid of honor, alexis longo. are you surprised to see her? >> yes, i'm so excited. i wish i could hug you. >> you can hug her. what do you think of the

dresses? >> you look absolutely beautiful and abby, you look so nice. >> that dress can be used as a dress with sleeves or a halter. >> i'm so excited, you look great. >> you want to stick around and taste some cake? that's what we're going to do now, we're bringing in gail simmons from top chef. >> you're the perfect one to do this because you also have a new show top chef just desserts. >> i love cake. i brought you four choices "today," all very different. you want to taste some cake? they cater to the stars, they're the best and most extraordinary parties all over the country and around the world. they have made you the most beautiful cake here. obviously these colors work perfect. >> but the bridesmaids dresses are beautiful.

>> we have four flavors of cake in here. this is a sweet potato with brown sugar. there's plenty to go around. have a taste of that. i know that you didn't -- you weren't such a fan of chocolate so we're giving you some chocolate. have a taste of that, there's also a vanilla with coffee crunch. >> and each guest will get their own individual cake? >> this beautiful oval cake and 150 individual cakes. so each guest at your wedding will get their own individual cake. >> okay the next cake is maddie austin. she just opened her shop just a little while ago. this cake i find to be so feminine, so romantic. >> and she's very hot right now, isn't she? >> she's like the darling of the wedding blogosphere. she made this cake with cinnamon and hazelnut.

>> this represents the state of missouri? she made this out of sugar, this is all handmade out of sugar and this incredible molding is also something you should look at because the work here is incredible. >> they really are works of art as much as they are cakes. >> the time that goes into this is incredible. >> i don't think we're going to turn down any advice. >> this is margaret vaughn, she's the author of cake walk, she is really an artist, she does incredible hand painting, 24 caret gold leaf on this cake. this is a chocolate cake with carmel crunch. dig in, guys, you can't be shy about this, this is your day. you just see the work on this. it's beautiful, it's really a seasonal cake. it just says autumn. how about that? >> and our last cake. >> this is our last cake, this is anna parsons, she's in

chesshire, connecticut. these flowers are all made from hand gum paste. >> what is gum paste? >> it's a product that really helps in making handmade flowers. she has four different. there's a vanilla cake with strawberry, one with raspberry. and one with apricot. and if you see, there's a little emblem, a little air force emblem which is a shadow to you, jeremy. lots to choose from, all very different, sort of from the classic all the way to the very modern. they are all really works of art. they're amazing pieces made just for you guys. >> and most importantly, they all taste delicious. >> i'm glad you guys don't have to choose, because i don't know

how i would. >> i don't know either. >> i have this urge to keep my fingers crossed. thank you so much. >> thank you so much. >> get ready, because it's really happening. after this, that's it, right? >> and then you find out your honeymoon, but that's on the day of. all right, guys, perfect. all right, thank you all, and to vote for your favorite cake, head to our website todayshow.com, or our facebook page, facebook.com/todayshow. meanwhile, up next, advice on how to eat less meat and enjoy it.

this morning on how to cook

everything today, eating your way to better health. americans consume more meat than any other food group, and if you're trying to cut back while still enjoying the flavor, mark bitman has some great ideas as always. his book, snfd "the food matters cookbook." two pronged, you're going to do something for the environment and also good for your body. >> that's the idea, matt. it's that we don't want to eat meat, we like it, we love it, but we do eat too much. but you can use meat as a flavoring and really get the pleasure at the same time. >> if you cut out meat completely, people get bored, so you're not saying that, you're just saying reduce the amount of meat in recipes and this first one is a good example. instead of beef stu with mushrooms, it's mushroom stew with beef chunks. >> we've got -- you put them in

warm water and they soften up and then you can chop them. we have got leaks, carrots and parsnips. you can use celery, we need a little more garlic. and after these are sauteed a bit. which they will not have by the time i move through the next step, but anyway, after we cook them a little bit, we use that porcini liquid, which has great flavor, great depth. it leaves sometimes little sands at the bottom. some red wine. beef stock. this will cook for an hour, or an hour and a half. >> this is only a half a pound of beef. obviously not not a ton.

just let me show you, we're going to use some thyme and bay leaf in here too. when it comes to time to eat it, what you have essentially is a beef stew, just heavy on the vegetables. >> we'll have a sample in a second. let's take a look at another recipe. this is brown rice and beef burgers. >> i know you're skeptical about this. >> i don't like recipes that make it seem like you're trying to cut meat out of your diet. so does it taste like a burger? >> we have cooked brown rice and, again, only half a pound of beef here. chopped red onion or shallette. it's really salty, it's really, really rich. it's got a big distinctive flavor. and we have got some c oourksum

some oregano and flavor. >> so you cook these in the skillet? >> in the skillet or in the oven, whatever you prefer. >> it looks like you're eating a patty of rice. >> that's just what it looks like. >> the lauer nower. >> it takes delicious. if think if you're a guy who craves a burger, it may not be that satisfying. >> but the thing is it's delicious. so if your goal -- you're even having another bite. if your goal is to eat a burger that's a half a pound of meat, go right ahead. but if your goal is to eat a burg they're's good for you, here you go. >> what are these? >> these are fajitas, again just hut down on the meat and more

and more vegetables. what's beautiful here, is that pineapple with tequila and lime. tremendous flavor. >> the book is "the food matters cookbook."

by now you've been conditioned to know exactly what these two sounds mean. >> he's back for his 12th season and tonight's season premier, a foster child disappears and then reappears and it's up to sbu's detectives to figure out whether it's foul play. >> you keep a file of child molesters? >> i can't go through this again. i can't. >> again? >> our other daughter was abducted ten years ago. >> was that ever resolved? >> no. >> she's still out there, she's still out there. >> chris maloney plays detective elliott.

good morning to you. >> i have chills running up and down my spine. joan cusack is awesome. >> 12 years? >> 12 in the blink of an eye years. >> went by fast? >> until you sit home and maybe catch a marathon and you catch yourself from the first season and you go, i was a young man. who's that skinny good looking one there? in my shoes. >> this went off with a bang, great guest stars and apparently a potential love interest for mariska's character. >> i have no interest in talking. >> come on. >> ian c oourusack from lost. he came on for a two parter this season. that's really interesting. i can't really go into too much detail, but, yes, things get a little steamy, a little

dangerous, a little heart breaking and all that stuff. >> how do you go 12 years of playing the same character, when you sit down there and look at the next season's scripts, how do you change them up to keep them interesting? >> i actually had a discussion with our head writer and i think we all understood, you know, elliott went through a little bit of a rageaholic phase and it's his expression of trying to deal with these crimes that he meets up with every day. and i think you bang your head against the wall and the wall doesn't fall down, you find a new way of dealing with these traumas, so we're trying to find a new way for elliott to move through these days, in a more elegant and mature -- >> he's evolved. >> chris, you're the best. >> you're the best. >> no, you're the best. >> no, no, you. >> 8:00, 9:00 central time.

[ male announcer ] as the ceo of hp, carly fiorina laid off 30,000 workers. when you're talking about massive layoffs, which we did... perhaps the work needs to be done somewhere else. [ male announcer ] fiorina shipped jobs to china. and while californians lost their jobs, fiorina tripled her salary. bought a million dollar yacht. and five corporate jets. i'm proud of what i did at hp. [ male announcer ] carly fiorina. outsourcing jobs. out for herself. [ barbara boxer ] i'm barbara boxer and i approve this message. good morning, everybody. the time is 8:56. want to check in with jennifer. >> it is cool. it is the first day of fall. feels like fall, temperatures in the 60s. a few 70s in livermore, concorde

and fairfield. oakland 66, fairfield at 73 and gilroy 72. if you want warmer weather, i have it for you. the first full weekend of fall is summer like with the temperatures getting as warm as the 90s. >> more news right after the break.

menlo park is joining the fight against california's high-speed rail plan. palo alto is already taken part in it. their suit challenges the environmental impact report for the project.

another update in half an hour. the "today" show returns in about a minute. we'll see you back here in a little bit. greed. the wealthiest corporations. billions in profits and bonuses. and the sacramento politicians just gave these same corporations a new billion dollar handout... paid for by cuts to education and public safety with no guarantee of creating one new job. but we can change this by voting yes on proposition 24.

prop 24 repeals the billion dollar giveaway and protects our schools and communities. yes on prop 24. it's time to give us a break... not the big corporations. we're back with more on "today" wednesday morning, the 22nd of september, 2010. a nice crowd is gathered outside of plaza enjoying just the last day of summer. >> comes i at 11:089 tonight. >> we're in the 80s in new york. hopefully it's nice where you're waking up, as well. coming up, the latest with mel gibson's latest custody battle.

e-mails between the actor and his estranged girlfriend oksana where she appears to forgive him. now her attorneys say she wasn't the one who leaked the recordings. we're going to hear from two of her attorneys in an exclusive interview coming up in a couple of minutes. also ahead, help with your money emergencies this morning our handle has advice to paying your bills and the lowdown on credit counselors and whether they actually hurt your credit. that's on "today's" money 911. many medical tests are routine at certain ages, like mammograms and colonoscopies. even a simple blood pressure reading. but there are things you can do to prepare for those tests that can give you more accurate information when the results are in. we'll fill you in on some health test secrets that doctors often don't tell their patients about. it's interesting. >> all right. ann is on assignment today so you're handling the news chores, as well. >> i do, thank you very much.

a new book by bob woodward is outlining -- an early copy of obama's wars, top advisors argue over the war and doubt if the president's strategy will work. the white house is downplaying this saying policy divisions were well known at the time. on this first day of fall, summers leaving the white house. the white house says economic advisor lawrence summers is stepping down at the end of the year to return to harvard, the administration has come under fire for the slow pace of the economic recovery. and eight current and former city officials in bell, california, are facing charges of bilking taxpayers out of millions of dollars, a prosecutor called the case corruption on steroids. today the u.n. is announcing a global health campaign aimed at savings the lives of 16 million mothers and children worldwide over the next five years. worldwide every year, an estimated 8 million children die before their fifth birthday. today congress is holding a hearing on the recent salmonella

outbreak and massive egg recall linked to two egg farms in iowa. the outbreak sickened more than 1,000 people. the heads of those two farms are expected to apologize for the outbreak. this morning, paris hilton is thrown out of japan. she was denied entry two days after she pleaded guilty to a drug charge in las vegas. japan has strict immigration laws that bar those convicted of drug offenses. before leaving, paris tweeted that she's disappointed to be missing her fans. and an uninvited guest -- a backyard swing set in northern idaho tuesday after one of his antlers got stuck. look at this. once he was free, the moose hunkered down to catch his breath. police decided to keep their distance. that's smart. and let the moose decide for itself when it was time to leave. now you are up to date. it is 3 past the hour. >> they're huge. >> they are massive, yes. >> you can see the little squirrel next to him. >> rocky, was that his name? yes.

>> oh, don't know my own strength. >> rocky is the one who trashed the swing set, though. tamron, thank you very much. >> this time for sure. >> i just set all this up. you hit it. >> where's boris? do the weather as rocky. go ahead. >> june feret didthat. there was a woman doing the voice. i can't do that. let's get joe michaels to do it. let's show you what's going on as far as your weather's cocern.ed for today, we have a cold front bringing showers and thunderstorms across the great lakes today. also, a lot of heat in the southeast where we're going to see more record breaking temperatures. partly sunny to mostly sunny skies up and down the west this morning we have the sunshining over oakland. it has been rather windy all things to a trough that is passing across the area. behind that we are going to get

high pressure. things to the trough the winds are up. once that high pressure builds in across the bay area heat will build in. forecast highs into the 90s this weekend. >> and that's your latest weather. now to the bitter custody fight between mel gibson and his estranged girlfriend. new e-mails surfaced this week in which the actor apologized for his behavior in those ranting phone conversations with ox san'a. we'll hear from her attorneys in an exclusive interview in just a moment. but first, more from nbc's kristen welker. >> the battle between mel gibson and oksana exploded this summer with the relief of those now infamous audiotapes. >> i will make your [ bleep ] miserable, already? >> gibson seems to be berating

o oksana. >> what kind of a woman is that, hitting a woman when she's holding a child in her hands? breaking her twooet twice in the face. what kind of a man is that? >> reporter: her lawyers are telling her side of the story exclusively releasing these images of oksana today. holding and caring for six children. they have also released a photo showing the happy couple on vacation in 2008. the >> you have evidence on both sides, each side pointing to the other, each side accusing the other of making criminal acts against one another. >> reporter: gibson's camp has accused oksana of extortion. just last week, he had this run in with paparazzi? >> you're the guy from the other place? >> uh-huh.

>> what's the matter, you got nothing better to do. >> i'm just wondering if you really hit oksana? do you ever think you'll make another movie in this jodie fos in the october issue of more magazine, when you love a friend, you don't abandon them when they are struggling. i hope i can help him get through this dark moment. >> reporter: so far there's been no charges filed. >> the da's office will file charges against onor the other of them, dismiss the case or seek further investigation to prove their case. >> reporter: an ongoing fight with a young child caught in the middle. . >> earlier meredith spoke exclusive with martin and daniel who are representing oksana.

>> she was beaten, she was terrorized and yet all the media seems to focus on whether she extorted mel gibson, when in fact, it's just the opposite. this has never been about money, there's no chance in my view of anything even close to extortion, what they claim is extortion, truthfully are letters that profess her love and caring for him and this is what happens to domestic violence victims. they're vilified and we're trying to set the record straight. you have the videos and the pictures that show who she really is. >> did she ever ask for money in exchange for releasing photographs or videos? >> she's a victim who's been pigeon holded into a false light so that the truth of her allegations and her situation are ignored. >> if she is a violence victim, as you say, why haven't you filed a case against mel gibson

at this point? what's taking so long? >> i think at this point, the district attorney's office is really in the driver's seat in terms of these charges. they're very serious charges and to just file a lawsuit and fight about money is not the right thing right now. he has to be brought to justice for what he did. and mr. cooley, the district attorney of los angeles is in charge of that and we defer to him at this point. >> mel gibson's camp claimed in the beginning that oksana secretly made those tapes to extort him. she admits that she made the phone calls and she secretly recorded them. she admits she took the photos of her teeth, the broken veneers. why would she do that? >> the word admit is the wrong word. anybody who's beaten or threatened has the right to document it and show the world that this is what happened.

otherwise it's going to be mel gibson, one of the most popular love entsuperstars in the world against a loan woman. anyone who says that she demanded money in exchange for holding these back is a liar and i dare them to come on this show or any show and take responsibility for that statement because if they do, they'll pay a price for that. it's a lie. >> is she responsible for either selling these conversations to radar online or handing them over, leaking them to radar online? >> absolutely not. in fact those are word probably a million dollars to whoever leaked them and she is broke. so it just did not happen, she would not do it and in fact the evidence will show and we will eventually be able to bring forth proof that she tried to hold back any publicity that would hurt mel gibson because a battered woman will both protect

the accuser, even as she's being abused. >> but who else would have access to that kind of material, the private phone conversations? >> well, many, many people had access, we have very strong suspicions as to where they were leaked from. along with the letters and the e-mails, none of which came from our side whatsoever. but we do think we know who leaked them, what we can do about it, i don't know. >> let me bring you in here, what do you want the public to know about oksana at this point. >> i think you should know something about her, she started playing the piano when she was 3 years old. she's the concert pianist, she studied at the royal academy of music in london. she's given a number of concerts in the past few years trying to raise money for the injured children in college nia. this is a woman who has a life of her own, which is not part of

hollywood, not a part of the life in which mel gibson has lived. this is not someone who's being accurately portrayed in the media. she's a woman of stature and accomplishment. >> coming up next, from saving on medical bills to seeking advice from a credit counselor, our experts are back for "today's" 911. and we found out the winning bridesmaid dress, and we'll be showing the couple how to add that personal touch to their big day. but first these messages. he seems different. ♪ are you ready? he's not talking about work. ♪ i don't want to work he's not tucking in his shirt. ♪ everybody, now! he's not checking messages every 9 seconds. and now this? ♪ i don't want to play ♪ i just want to bang on the drum all day ♪

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ancr: on september 2nd we took over a restaurant just for a day. then we made lunch for the neighbors. thousands of turkey burgers on us. to show people there's a burger that's as lean as it is delicious. it's really good. he loves the turkey burgers. if i can give her something that's good for her and lean, i'd totally make this for her. ancr: make the switch. look for jennie-o at a store near you. "today's" money 911 where we answer some of your most pressing financial questions. the answer of money 911, david bach is the author of finish

rich and we're going to start off with an email. this one cent in from stacy in charleston, south carolina. my husband is $10,000 in credit card debt and 13,000 in student loans. we are ready for a baby, but don't want to overload yourselves financially. the cost for self-pay renatal care and delivery in our area ranges from 8,000 to 14,000. how should we go about paying for the medical care? >> my parents said if they had to wait until they could afford it, they never would have had me and my brother. i want you to go to the hospital and i want you to go in there and negotiate with them in advance of getting pregnant. the insurance will pay not that $14,000 price tag but somewhere

between 6,000 and $8,000 and that's where you want to be able to pay as well. go in there, ask for a payment plan and start paying up front. and the problem she's having is they actually have insurance. but let the hospital know you are a self-pay candidate and these days they are very willing to work with you. >> sometimes pregnancies don't always go right, so i'm really concerned that she's not pregnant yet, so this is the time she can go and google her state insurance broker and silt with them and see what it would cost to get insurance coverage just in case something goes wrong. >> good advice. >> let's go to skype, we have got kirsten from larry my, wyoming. are you in laramie or are you in houston, texas snx. >> we're in laramie. >> what is your question? >> both of us started this relationship with mysterious debt, credit cards, student

loans, car payments and it seems like no matter what we can do we just can't get ahead. i think it's time we go see a nonprofit credit counselor. >> but my concern is we both have good credit scores and i have heard that that can affect your credit scores. >> i love that they're tag teaming. >> and i love that they're working on this issue together. first of all going to a nonprofit credit counseling group will not affect your score, it's all depending on your score. you can go to nfcc.org. and you can go to aicctoday.org. these will refer you to a consumer nonprofit counseling group. they're going to meet with you for one hour. in that hour, they're going to go through with you a couple of things, first of all, why are you here?

how did you get in so much debt, how much money is coming in and how much money is going out. that first hour is a counseling session and they don't charge for it. they may look at your situation and say you know what? there's actually areas in your budget that you can cut back on and you can pay this set off without having to do anything that would potentially affect your credit score. what can affect your credit score is debt management plans, they may say you're a great candidate for a debt management plan. if you sign up for a debt management plan, it doesn't guarantee that it's going to affect your credit score, i think it's a great idea for you to go to one. >> many people go into these dmps and it actually makes them pay their bills on time where they weren't paying their bills on time so they come out on the other end with a better credit score. >> and less debt. >> we're going to go to the phones, savannah, from houston,

texas. savann savannah, what's your question? >> caller: i have two questions really, i'm a recent college grad and i'll soon be facing payment of my student loans. what is the best option on paying my student loans back. i was told you can defer them, is that true? >> savannah, do you have a job now? do you have income? >> yes, ma'am, i do. >> so even though it's not your dream job, here's the thing, you can negotiate down what you're going to pay every month. you can follow up with an income deferment, not deferment, but income based repayment. here's the reason i don't want you to do that just yet because you have income. because if you go with another plan, it changes your loan and you won't be able to file for deferment or forbearance later on when you don't have a job. so what i would love for you to do is talk to your student loan administrator, see if this is a federal loan, see if you can negotiate down every month. but don't apply for a deferment

or a forbearance,hat you can do because then you don't have the chance to basically change your loans down the line when you don't have income. >> get some more information, okay? >> okay. >> great, all right, thanks a lot. >> now let's go to vickie from he hensdale, illinois on skype. >> jean chatzky responded to a question last month about applying for a college loan. i have eight children, the four older ones are through with their undergrad and on to graduate school. the loans were available to them without co-signers, but that's not the case anymore other than for government subsidized and unsubsidized loans. i have two kids in college this ye year. can you tell us any lenders that do not require a co-signer? >> generally it's the federal

loans that don't require a co-signer. after your students start paying them back, after about 12 months of repayment, you can get off. >> that will probably make you love the kids even more. >> jean chatzky, david bach, thank you. the four things you should roinutl .re you go in a but first, these messages. [ female announcer ] you use the healing power of touch every day. ♪ now the healing power of touch just got more powerful.

introducing precise from the makers of tylenol. precise pain relieving heat patch activates sensory receptors. it helps block pain signals for deep penetrating relief you can feel precisely where you need it most. precise. only from the makers of tylenol. i'd get this tightness in my chest. so i went back to my doctor again. we chose symbicort to help control my asthma symptoms. [ man ] symbicort improves my lung function... starting within 15 minutes. [ woman ] symbicort will not replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. it is a combination of two medicines and should not be taken more often than prescribed. [ man ] symbicort contains formoterol. medicines like formoterol increase the risk of death from asthma problems, and children and adolescents may have an increased risk of being hospitalized for asthma problems. [ woman ] symbicort is not for people whose asthma is well controlle with a long-term asthma control medicine like inhaled corticosteroids. once your asthma is well controlled,

your doctor will decide if you can stop symbicort without loss of control, and prescribe a long-term asthma control medicine. be sure to see your doctor if your asthma does not improve or gets worse. symbicort is a good choice to help control my asthma all day and night. [ inhales ] [ exhales ] ask your doctor if symbicort is a good choice for you. [ male announcer ] if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. what if something bad happens? so what happens if someone gets my credit or debit card and buys a ton of stuff? that would be... really, really bad. [ male announcer ] with bank of america's zero liability guarantee, you're not responsible for any fraudulent charges on your card. guaranteed. bank of america says they'll credit any fraudulent charges back to my account as soon as the next day. the next day! that makes me feel better about using these cards. they've got my back. they've got my back. [ male announcer ] the opportunity to worry less about fraud with the zero liability guarantee from bank of america. coming up, how to get the most out of your next medical

test. the secrets your doctor may not be sharing with you. and in "today's" kitchen, pork cho aps applesauce, but we're giving it a snappy new flavor. da-da, da, da, da-da ♪ ♪ da-da, da, da, da ♪ da, da, da-da-da, da, da-da-da, da, da-da ♪ [ female announcer ] there's a place called hidden valley where kids not only eat their vegetables, they can't get enough. ♪ hidden valley ranch. makes vegetables delectable. discover four more ways to make vegetables delectable with farmhouse originals from hidden valley. key lime pie, pineapple upside down cake, raspberry cheesecake... ...yeah, every night its something different. oh yeah yeah...she always keeps them in the house. no no no, i've actually lost weight... i just have a high metabolism or something... ...lucky. [ wife ] babe... ♪ umm, i gotta go. [ female announcer ] over 30 delicious flavors

at around 100 calories each. yoplait, it is so good. indulge in yoplait light's two new flavors. triple berry torte and black forest cake. good morning, time is 9:26. taking a peek at your morning commute. the bay bridge toll plaza has grown. a lot of congestion there. some of the fast track lanes moving through quicker. it has been another hot spot here. you see it is pretty sluggish southbound. a lot of folks getting used to the toll lanes. now a look at the forecast. >> looking at the temperatures this morning, it feels cool. 43 in gilroy, 55 in san

francisco, 55 in san mateo. we will see a warmup coming our way. because the winds are up it feels cooler than it actually is. this weekend we are not going to need a jacket at all. take a look at our forecast high. today 70 inland. by the time we hit the weekend forecasting 93. on the coast today highs in the upper '50s. this weekend in the lower 70s. stick with us brent hte. nesshan a nu.

our state is in a real mess. and i'm not going to give you any phony plans or snappy slogans that don't go anywhere. we he eto liv withinnsur lea m. we have got to take the power from the state capitol and move it down to the local level, closer to the people. and no new taxes, without voter approval. we have got to pull together not as republicans or as democrats but as californians first. at this stage in my life, i'm prepared to do exactly that. the cost of alcohol? san francisco will remain the same for the time being. the board of supervisors passed a tax, mayor newsom vetoed it. mayor newsom says the fee would hurt jobs and tread on the state's authority to regulate

alcohol. the board would need eight votes to overturn his veto. supporters of the bill may take the issue to the voters. the alcohol fee may be out. san francisco is moving forward with a ban on tobacco sales. supervisor eric march voted for the legislation. he says pharmacies should promote health not selling cigarettes. a supervisor said no to the new plan. there is a line between government and big brother infringing. more local news coming up in half an hour. have a great morning. [ male announcer ] as the ceo of hp, carly fiorina laid off 30,000 workers. when you're talking about massive layoffs, which we did... perhaps the work needs to be done somewhere else. [ male announcer ] fiorina shipped jobs to china. and while californians lost their jobs, fiorina tripled her salary.

bought a million dollar yacht. and five corporate jets. i'm proud of what i did at hp. [ male announcer ] carly fiorina. outsourcing jobs. out for herself. [ barbara boxer ] i'm barbara boxer and i approve this message. would you rather have to start every sentence for the rest of your life with erkel ears catch phrase, did i do that? or sharon stone for a year, did i do that? >> a very hard working and very funny actress, ms. tina fey, she's brought her brand of humor from 30 rock over here to our studio. she's got her alarm set right there. and coming up in this half hour, how to make the most of your next trip to the doctor. >> there are some standard tests that many of us get on a regular basis, whether it's a mammogram

or a simple blood pressure reading and there are things you can do before the test and when scheduling them to make sure you get accurate results. we're going to tell you what those are. >> like fasting before you have a blood test. >> which i didn't know until you told me. and we're going to step into the kitchen and get a lesson on giving your classic pork chops and applesauce a mexican flare. i looked over this recipe and it looks spectacular. in just over a week, our wedding couple will tie the knot in front of millions of viewers. if you're planning on a big wedding, we have brought in wedding experts who have some simple gift ideas to have a very personal touch for the big day. very nice, but first al, you've got another check of the forecast. >> let's take a look at what's happening for "today." we have got a risk of strong storms in the upper midwest, also partly sunny to mostly

sunny skies up and down the west coast. beautiful along the gulf coast, but it's going to be hot tomorrow and today throughout the southeast and the gulf coast. heavy rain move into the western great lakes, showers in the southwest and the pacific northwest. sunny and warm along the mid-atlantic states. one of the spots we are seeing some low clouds here in san francisco. most of us are enjoying some sunshine and, in fact, that sunshine is going to be cool today for the first day of fall. forecasting a high of 70 inland, along the beach 58 for a forecast high. tomorrow starts to warm up as we hit fall. more summer like weather coming our way. forecast highs in the 70s and 90s inland. >> and that's your latest weather. coming up, getting the most out of your routine medical screenings right after this. when i had my heart attack, i couldn't believe it.

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dannon light & fit gives hope. we are sisters, daughters, wives, mothers. and together, we can help fight breast cancer. go online, enter the code from your light & fit lid, and we'll make a 10 cent donation. give hope with every cup of light & fit. this morning on "today's" health, getting the most out of health screening. if you're preparing for a colonoscopy or a mammogram, there are little tricks that doctors sometimes don't tell you about. lawrence gelman is here for the inside scoop. high are these such a secret? >> they're not a secret and it's not that doctors don't want you

to know this information, but we know how busy their offices are, we're lucky if we get ten minutes with them and there's just not time to go over all these little details. >> and you talked to doctors and they were very forthcoming with these tips? >> they're tips to help you get more accurate and more comfortable test results. >> blood pressure, you cannot have symptoms but still have a problem. >> one thing that everybody needs to do is make sure you're relaxed, you want to chill out for three to five minutes before hand. if you're stressed out, it can raise your blood pressure as much as 20 minutes. and as we all know, we're rushing to the doctor during our lunch breaks, so make sure you can sit, take some deep breaths and look through a magazine and calm down. and also a good idea not to go for coffee right before hand because caffeine can temporarily elevate your blood pressure. >> the next test, mammograms,

i'm going to have my first mammogram and no one mentioned this tip to me. >> and the first one is you want to make sure you book your appointment at a facility that specializes in mammography. and another thing to keep many mind, go all natural, kip your deodor raned dodorant and your day, and if you're premenopausal, it's a good idea to book your mammogram the week after your period. >> let's talk about skin cancer, one in five americans will develop skin cancer and there's something you can do to get accurate results. >> this is a surprising test, a lot of people don't think to do this. you want to remove your nail polish before you go to the dermatologist. there's one kind of melanomas and it commonly occurs under

your finger and toenails. so if you're sporting opaque polish, your doctor is not going to spot something that can sig fight a problem. >> and cholesterol, you say there are things we should do stays before, not just when you're in the office. >> a lot of us know about fasting the night before a cholesterol test, or your doctor should tell us to fast. but the foods that you're eating, to the three or four days before hand can also affect your reading. avoid high fat, high starchy meals which can raise your t triglycerid triglycerides. >> and coffee can affect. >> lots of things can affect. also exercising, you want to try when you exercise, that can be a factor too. >> all right, so a few things there. and also finally colonoscopy, we know the benefits, but what should we do to make sure we get our test results accurate? >> book your colonoscopy first

thing in the morning. you can get more accurate cancer detection in the morning and one reason why is that doctors are less fatigued first thing in the morning so they're more likely to spot abnormalities. and another thing is that your colon is likely to be clearer first thing in the morning because of the bowel prep work and you have had overnight for it to set. >> are there quick things we should ask your doctor? >> before your health test, you always want to make sure why you're getting it, is there anything i should or shouldn't do before then, are there any risks? especially with ct scans, and lastly always ask when you can expect to get results. especially with cancer screenings, it can be very nerve-racking while you're waiting and knowing when you're going to get the results can help alleviate a lot of that stress. up next, personalizing your wedding with a celebrity planner. can start with healthy hands.

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"today's" wedding modern love is brought to you by chevy. every model is backed by a 100,000 mile, 5-year limited power train warranty. >> personalizing your wedding, but with so many folks involved in your wedding, sometimes the bride and groom's personalities get lost in the mix. some ideas on how you and our wedding couple jeremy and melissa can add a personal touch to the celebration. good to see everybody. >> good morning. >> guys a week to go, how are you holding up? >> we're so excited. we can't wait to see how everything turns out. >> jeremy is just like vibrating. >> okay, you're going to show us

"today" thr today three items that can really help personalize the wedding. >> it's important to think about the comfort of the guests because this is your first joint statement as spouses. so you want to make them as comfortable as possible. >> it's fun to provide the ladies with one of these wraps. you can put embroidly on the bottom. so it's about $12 apiece. >> that's all? >> what about the menu? >> i love the idea of personalizing the menus by putting your name on the top. it makes you feel welcome. >> this replaces the postcard and this does allow you to balance the images a the table.

we have smoked salmon and then moved on to some truffled scrambled eggs. moving on to sliced mango and wedding cape. >> this would be a good keep shake, maybe make a shadow box out of it or something like that. and this is a great ritual. >> instead of having a sign in book, each person getting to give a wish to the bride and groom. if you hit a bump along the way, you can always go back and read the wishes of your family, friends and loved one. >> i love ritual, because ritual pulls us together and gets us all on the same page at the same time. >> as they get ready, what advice would you give them? >> we have made all the arrangements for them, they need to sit back and enjoy the ride.

and make sure everyone has a wonderful time. >> and don't forget to eat. >> now to vote on your favorite gift for melissa and jeremy's wedding, go to todayshow.com, you can also go to facebo facebook.com/todayshow. or you can text your vote to 622639, text five for the embroidered shawl. six for personalized menus for the reception, and 7 for the wish box. next we have a new take on pork chops and applesauce.

twizzlers. the twist you can't resist. this morning on "today's" kitchen, pork chops and applesauce. hot chef ivey stark here in new york city brings a mexican flare

to this classic combination. why do we love pork chops and apples together? >> i think it's a natural combination. i think that one of the things pigs like to eat is apples. so i think -- >> so their demise is they like the apples. >> so apples naturally complement the pork flavor. >> so this starts with a marinade? >> yes, it does, this is a simple rub. i have some c oourksumin and gr coreander and i would marinade that for 15 minutes in the refrigerator, you can do it an hour, two hours, if you wanted to do it more ahead of time. and you can take a little bit of the paste and i'm going to rub it right on the pork. >> get it on e both sides? >> get it on both sides and then

get that started on the grill. i'm going to flip it. now i just started at a -- >> that's a pretty thick pork chop, so how long would you grill that on each side? >> i would say eight to ten minutes on each side, for medium and medium well. >> people think you have to cook it so dry. >> it's a lot more juicy that way. >> i have some blanched tomatillos here, you would take off the muhusk, wash them and tn blanch them in boiling water. so i have in the food processor some cilantro and i'm going to add the blanched tomatillos to that. i have a little bit of cumin. you can use any sort of chili pepper that you like or none at all if you don't like spice.

>> are those chili's particularly spicy? >> they're spicy and they're smoked jalapenos so they have a smoky flavor. >> what are you adding there? >> there is fresh lime juice. i'm going to add a little bit of honey. this will add a little bit of complexity in the sweet against the spicy. >> and you have your chopped apples? >> these are granny smith apples. this is a little apple juice. >> does it matter which apples? >> use whatever apples you like, the granny smith are kind of tart. i'm going to blend this a little bit to get it combined. >> i'm just going to add that. simple. and look how simple this sauce is to make? >> it's beautiful. >> and it's pretty too. >> so you're done with that and what is the final step here?

>> the final step is to eat. everybody's favorite part. so i have the pork chops. i'm going to just put that on a plate with some of the sauce. >> you just kind of pour the sauce over it and let it soak into the meat? >> absolutely. >> i'll try this and i know you have a few other dishes to complement. >> oh, love that. >> and cornbread, some chili cornbread goes with that. >> the pork chop. >> i have to put some muscle in this. this is delicious looking, awesome. >> very nice. >> it is very nice. would you like to try one? >> oh, my gosh, that's absolutely delicious. >> the salsa is amazing. ivey, this is absolutely amazing. i can't stop eating. thank you, ivey. >> coming up, with hoda and kathy lee, getting your picky

kids to eat healthy foods by sneaking it into their meals. >> like a big old pork chop. but first, we have got your local news and weather. don't go away. [ female announcer ] jerry brown and oakland's schools.

what were the facts? fact: march 7, 2000. brown asks voters for new mayoral power to appoint school board members. he gets it, and promises better schools. but the drop out rate increases 50%. the school budget goes into a 100 million dollar deficit. the schools become so bad the state has to take them over. it was "largely a bust," he admitted. jerry brown. failure as governor. failure as mayor. failure we can't afford now. good morning, everybody. time now 9:56. taking a peek at your morning commute. the bay bridge toll plaza.

big improvement over the last half hour. the fast track getting through pretty good. a nice improvement since 9:30. the sinole is getting sluggish. people getting used to the change in configuration. right now i want to check in with jennifer hill and take a look at the morning forecast. >> we are starting out cool today. it is the first day of fall. 44 in napa, 43 in gilroy. winds have been fairly strong especially coming through the passes and along the water. today is another cool day with wind. forecast high today is 70. we are forecasting 78 for tomorrow. that signals warming. after that we are seeing temperatures in the 90s. executions could resume at

san quentin as early as next week. ruling the way california put people to death was unconstitutional. the move came after an execution team had trouble carrying out a lethal injection. san quentin prison rebuilt the death chamber. attorney general jerry brown says the state is ready to carry out the executions. >> he is familiar with what happened and he can tell that not a lot has changed. >> convicted murderer albert brown is scheduled to die september 29th. a federal judge will issue the ruling to pave the way for brown's execution. more local news coming up in half an hour. the "today" show returns in

about a minute. [ male announcer ] barbara boxer. she fought to get our veterans the first full combat care center in california. her after school law is keeping a million kids off the street and out of gangs. and she's fighting every day to create new jobs. i'm working to make california the leader in clean energy. to jump-start our small businesses with tax credits and loans to create thousands more california jobs. i'm barbara boxer, and i approve this message... because i want to see the words made in america again.

from nbc news, this is "today" with kathie lee gifford and hoda kotb live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. you have officially made it to the 22nd day of september also known as ne day around here, but sad day for some of us. official last day of summer. >> today's the day. >> around 11:00 or something i think this evening, east coast time. >> the beauty of this week in new york city at least, it's going to be in the 80s. >> you know where we're spendsing the day today, we're going to elementary school.

>> we're going back to fourth grade. >> to prove weren't smarter than a fourth grader. >> i'm going to be embarrassed. there are things i know i don't know. i probably didn't learn them the first time. >> i told my daughter the day she was born, don't expect me to help you with math. i can't help you with math. >> what are we doing? >> we're doing katie lee and hoda makes fools of themselves. you had a busy night. >> hold on. i had a prensent for you. i couldn't find a bag. anyway. >> hoda, i love you. >> that's all we had. >> ho, ho, ho. merry christmas. open it. >> oh, my gosh! do we have a drum roll in the booth? forget it. look what i've got here, baby. hot off the presses, hoda's new book. there it is. oh, my gosh. hoda, it's beautiful. how i survived war zones, bad

hair, cancer and kathie lee. in that order. hoda, i love it. you wore this dress to match your -- >> i did not. >> when you go to the book signings wear that dress. >> the page you need to go to if you're interested in buying it, there's an entire kathie lee section in here. >> just one? >> we have multiple chapters. >> i'm on the cover? >> you start at chapt ster 18, page 212. the beginning is just before you, which wasn't much raem. we have some pictures. i hope you like the ones i choose. >> when's it come officially? >> october 12th. >> we're so proud of you, sweetie. >> thank you. >> since you wrote it at my house in florida -- >> i did. >> i'll put it in the bag. >> the santa bag. >> i expect some commission. >> yes. >> so you were busy again last night. that's one thing living in

connecticut, you can say no to things because it's heart to come back and forth. >> remember, we had the women doing good on our show. i just emceed their event, and it was beautiful. they were all dressed to the nines. lucy danzinger was there. it was a great event. the people are terrific. we melt people yesterday. >> they were all doing good things for other people. it wasn't about their own courage and stuff, it was their inspiration to make a difference in the world. >> it was fun for those guys who give to everybody, and on one day it's their day. zoont o >> not one expected to be rewarded for it, because the doing of the work was the reward in itself. >> you're right. woman who plays the

beast who is the nemesis of sue sylvester and mr. chu. it's just fun. you know you're with good friends when you feel this is okay to do. we had a dinner party for friends, our friends emily and craig from michigan and two of their friends and their son chip. they came over for dinner, and they didn't leaive? 8:00 came, and it was time for "glee." >> they stayed? >> they're such great friends, i said guess what? you still have food on your face from dinner and you're watching "glee." >> you didn't watch "dancing with the stars"? >> i'm afraid to watch "dancing with the stars" because i'll get hooked. >> for those of you who watched

david hasselhoff got the boot. he danced the cha-cha. he didn't seem surprised. >> na guy was in the final, too? he wasn't in the lowest. okay. he was from "that's so raven." >> yes. >> i thought he looked familiar yesterday. cassidy and i did an episode of "that's so raven." he's adorable. >> there he is dancing. >> he's not on the beat. he's off-beat, yeah. so the sex bomb bombed? >> it bombed big-time. >> i wish him the best. he's had a lot of problems, he's a nice guy, david hasselhoff. people have their issues, hoda. >> i'm surprised. he's so well-known. i didn't think he'd be the first voted off no matter who danced.

>> who did you think it would be margaret cho. >> i thought she was okay. i thought "the situation." >> would you do it if they asked you? >> no. i'm uncoordinated. i can only dance to music i like. like the cha-cha, i don't get that. i like other kinds of music. >> i know. you do. another guy that dances to his own drum is our friend mel gibson, and i do -- i happen to have met mel sxi personally do like mel and i'm so sorry all this stuff happening. it puts -- ufrnfortunate is not the best word. it's pathetic on so many levels. apparently jodie foster is standing by herman. >> that's the first person we've heard who has come out publicly and said -- >> they're close, close friends. >> she said this to "more" magazine. whether y when you love a friend, you do not abandon them when they're struggling.

i hope i can get him through this dark moment. she said he's the easiest and nicest person she's worked with. the second she met him she said i'll love him for the rest of my life. she met him doing "maverick." you haven't heard anybody say mel is a good guy. >> he's not a popular guy and hasn't been since directed "the passion of the christ." of all of them, i wonder if hollywood will give him a second act. i wonder. they're usually for giving. you can be a child molester and rapist and murderer, we kwom you back because you're an artist. i don't know if they'll do that mel. >> i think there was something weird about hearing mel gibson's voice, if that was his voice, hearing it. that's really what -- i don't know. it was upsetting. >> you know what makes me happy when you hear it? these new little things. i have to get to them now, but

we want to have fun with these. these are called thingamajigs. they're the newest, hottest things. if you press them alone, it goes. if you press two, harmony. if you do four. >> how adorable. >> it's like the million dollar quart quartet. >> what happens if you push the hand? push the hand. >> oh. >> i don't know what they're doing. >> they're very cute. they're 12.99 each at toys-r-us. >> how do you open the mouth? >> hit the tummy. look at this. look at this. later. you can stick your finger in his mouth, and he's got teeth. >> i love these all day long. >> i'm going to take one home to bambino and he's going to have his way with. he's a kinky teacup multi-poop.

when he finds out that this little mouth opens. >> stop it! who are you? who are you? that's what i need to know right now. okay, the batteries are dying. thank you for putting the crawl up. continue. one is getting a lot of use. the next -- >> see you later. >> they keep talking. >> you know why i'm hoarse again? i went off the wagon. i have to be honest. last night i -- last night i had cheese. yes, i did. broke down. i had some -- >> what kind? >> chicken parmesan. >> that's a good way to break it. >> can i tell you. the hoarseness again today.

that reminds me of that favorite story, you know the one. victoria principal, when i went to do a four-parter with her and i show up in an outfit, work outout fit. she's miss perfect and she looks at me and says kathie, you have a beautiful body, but you love cheese, don't you? i went, yes. most women have a little problem with dairy. if you just stop eating cheese, that will go away. >> that was -- >> she couldn't have been nicer about it, and what she said was true. i cannot look at a piece of cheese without thinking of victoria principal. >> when someone tells you something honestly, do you -- >> back then i'd say thank you. now i'm say what the -- >> i like that you better. >> hi, sarah. >> a lot of fans are asking about your book. we will give a handful away when it comes out. >> yes. then the rest of you have to

purchase it, please. >> it's beautiful. praise for hoda. what did brian williams say? this is the hoda i know. she's written this book the way she lives. out loud and you want front. she's written about the stuff of all our lives, love, loss, and what she wore. that's the best brian williams could come up with? i thought he was a genius or something. oh, please. and what she wore? brian. god, the man is letting me down. all right. up next -- >> i love it. >> paula deen and meredith and me and joan rivers and adrian. >> we'll be right back. first day in our new house! does it feel like home, yet? we'll take care of that. ♪ feels like home [ dad ] good morning. [ male announcer ] grands! biscuits.

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[ birds chirping ] wow! did i ever tell you what it was like growing up with four sisters? that sounds fun. yeah...fun for them! [ male announcer ] chevy traverse. a consumers digest best buy. with a 100,000 mile powertrain warranty. it seats eight comfortably -- not that it always has to.

but we lost today. no, we didn't... ♪ we're the kids in america ♪ oh, oh, oh ♪ we're the kids in america ♪ oh, oh, oh irchlt

irchltsz. >> what do you get when you combine a hot guy and hot guy? >> you get undercovers about a husband who comes out of retirement to rejoin the cia along with his wife. take a look. >> despite your tone, i will help you fine leon nash, but only under specific conditions and the most important is my wife can never know about my involvement, ever. you understand? hey, honey. >> i love it. >> cojo is here. >> did you play steven bloom? >> yes. this is getting great reviews. we were reading it this morning. >> we've been working hard for eight months, and finally the world gets to see it. we're excited about it. >> if i have us the cliff note version of what we'll see? >> samantha and steven bloom are a married couple of ex-spies who decide they want to retire and live a normal life. after five years of doing that, catering, they get pulled back

into the cia. >> that always happens. >> all the time. it's so annoying. >> why won't they let you spy alone. >> we travel the world and go through crazy adventures and martial arts and speaking different languages. >> which you do? you were born in vienna. >> yeah, and grew up in germany. >> you speak german? >> a little spanish and english as well. >> i don't detect any accent at all. were you raised in nern? >> no. i was raised in germany. >> you're married with a nice family, right? >> beautiful nicole parker and two kids, sophie and nicholas, five and three. >> you're even more impossibly gorgeous than the woman that plays your -- it's really repulsive. it's unbelievable. >> i lucked out. >> you did. >> there's a foundation that you have for one of your children. tell us about it.

>> my daughter was born with spina bifida which is a birth detect, and 60 million women in this country are at risk. nicole and myself started the foundation to advocate for folic acid, which is a very important vitamin b, and everybody should be on that vitamin b. >> i'm sure your wife was. >> she was. there's obviously genetic issues as well as. eight kids are born with it every day, and it could be three if everybody was on folic acid all the time. >> how is she doing now. >> she's doing great in kindergarten and doing hip-hop dancing. >> how do they feel about daddy being a tv star? >> they have no idea. they think the computer examine laptop and the tv is the same thing. we pull up pictures of them, and they don't know the difference. >> how old is the other child? >> nicholas is three and he

scored three goals on saturday in his soccer game. >> we could keep you here for a millennium. all the best. >> good luck with that. it premieres tonight at 8:00 p.m. right here on nbc. let's make it work. >> up next, something special for one young woman pedaling for a cure right after this. ready to try something new? campbell's has made changes. adding lower sodium sea salt to more soups. making it easier to find your favorites and discover new ones. even giving you five dollars in coupons to get you started. campbell's condensed soup. pass it on. campbell's.® it's amazing what soup can do.™

pancakes! ♪ from dawn 'til sunset, i'll never walk away ♪ ♪ blueberry pancakes are so good ♪ [ male announcer ] bisquick. pancake lovers unite.

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diagnosed with a rare form of cancer that attacks the body's tissue, but jen didn't let the diagnosis destroy her outlook. it actually made her stronger. >> in 2007 she founded a group called cycle for survival, which grew from a family-based fund-raising effort to a national success story raising $2.4 million this past january for cancer research. she's here with us today. she just got out of the hospital yesterday, her sixth surgery and starting a new chemo this friday. you got up and said i'm going to hang out with kathie lee sxhoed da. >> it's a lot more fun than stigt in the hospital. >> what motivates you to keep going when you have the right to sit there and take care of yourself? >> i'm doing it for all the millions of patients like me who don't know a lot about their cancers and are looking for more options. when you're diagnosed with cancer, it's devastating enough, but not to have an answer and not to know what the plan is so scary. with these rare cancers like the one i have, we just don't have as much knowledge or treatment

options. >> had you heard of the word sarcoma before someone told you you had it? >> i had no idea what it was. it's scary. there's more broad forms of cancers and there's more options. the more to get awareness about rare cancers and to raise money, i want to help people. >> i love what you do, too. she does cycle for survival, which is so genius. i love you on the buy bikes. you have your dew rags on and raising money. >> absolutely. somedays i can do it for minutes or an hour. it's me against the bike. it's my battle against cancer. >> you're anot alone in this fight. we have prized. >> he's a very cute surprise. come on out. >> uh-oh. >> where is he? he's supposed to be right around the corner? >> sdoo we have him, jerry? is he coming?

>> cal rip kin jr. is in the house. >> hello. how are you? >> he's here for a reason, jen. you want to tell us cal. >> on behalf of energizer you're going to be the next inductee into the energizer keep going hall of fame. energizer started the keep going hall of fame to bring tribute to ordinary people that do extraordinary things. let me be the first to say congratulations. >> she keeps going and going and going. you picked right with this one. >> absolutely. >> you're amazing. how do you find -- i don't know -- the time and motivationed motivation ed ed to the things you're doing, jen? >> this gives me energy and hope. a hospital can be a depressing place or inspiring place. each has their own amazing stories about how to get through. it inspire mess to keep giving back. the more people we can help, it just makes me feel very

fulfilled. >> you don't wake up and say, gee, i'm get an ward today. i'm such a wonderful person. this is because you are doing so much for so many people that need help. >> thank you. >> how about you, cal? you doing well? >> i'm doing well. >> you go around as an ambassador of comfort and hope, huh? >> i was called the energizer bunny when i played. you're in it for all the right reasons doing wonderful, wonderful work. your story should be todld. it is very, very inspiring. >> thank you. still to come, time to play a little game, buzz that's what we do after this. congratulations. [ female announcer ] it's never been easier

to bring the family together on sunday mornings than with the warmth and aroma of freshly baked pillsbury cinnamon rolls. [ wink! ] [ wink! ] ♪ dannon light & fit gives hope. we are sisters, daughters, wives, mothers. and together, we can help fight breast cancer. go online, enter the code from your light & fit lid, and we'll make a 10 cent donation. give hope with every cup of light & fit.

the moisturizer in other body washes sits on top of skin. only dove has nutriummoisture, which can nourish deep down. dove body wash with nutriummoisture. superior natural nourishment for your skin. good morning. it is 10:26. getting you updated on the morning commute. the bay bridge toll plaza backed up again. we are not seeing reports of accidents but we are told the metering lights are back on. in the past half hour. the sinole grade moving much smoother and easing up in the 10:30 hour. right now we want to check in with jennifer hill to take a look at our forecast. >> we look at the forecast. it is cool and you have noticed the winds remain up. that is thanks to a tropics

hanging out. 71 in livermore, 64 in redwood city. by 4:00 we are forecasting quite a bit of sunshine, but our forecast highs feel like fall. 68 in redwood city, 66 in oakland, 70 in san jose and 72 in gilroy. if you want some heat, i've got some in the seven-day forecast. forecasting highs in the 70s near the beaches and the hot 90s [ male announcer ] as the ceo of hp, carly fiorina laid off 30,000 workers. when you're talking about massive layoffs, which we did... perhaps the work needs to be done somewhere else. [ male announcer ] fiorina shipped jobs to china.

and while californians lost their jobs, fiorina tripled her salary. bought a million dollar yacht. and five corporate jets. i'm proud of what i did at hp. [ male announcer ] carly fiorina. outsourcing jobs. out for herself. [ barbara boxer ] i'm barbara boxer and i approve this message. [ barbara boxer ] i'm barbara boxer ben and his family live on this block. ben's a re/max agent, and he's a big part of this community. re/max agents know their markets, and they care enough to get to know you, too. nobody sells more real estate than re/max. visit remax.com today.

the marriott foundation has named the oakland zoo employer of the year, mostly because of its bridges program. every year the zoo hires six to 12 bay area kids with disabilities to work for the summer. last night buster posey had a solo home run. the giants won 1-0. the padres won as well. the giants keeping their half game lead in the nl west. there are 11 games left in the season. the a's will not make the playoffs. they beat the white sox last night. trevor cahill picking up his 17th win of the year. 7-2 oakland. chicago's eighth loss in a row so they are eliminated from the postseason, but the minnesota twins are the al central champs.

thanks for joining us this morning. the "today" show continues coming up next. and we're back on this wines day with more of "today." it's time to play "who knew?" since ougautumn begins tonight,d kathie lee will hand out $100 to the lucky people that answer the questions correctly. okay. here to help me out is humphries executive of "real simple" magazine. let's see how people do. >> two adorable girls visiting from jacksonville, florida looking for guys. anyway. the change in leaves nm is i phenomenon that affects what

kind of trees? >> aren't we smart plus pretty. there you go, baby. >> the desid yus. >> desid yus. the combination of cooler days and bright sunlight will stimulate the pigment in the leave that is changes the color. it's the drier season, like a drier late summer and early fall. you get better color traditionally because of less rain and more sunlight. >> i think we'll do okay. >> back across to kathie. >> the world series is typically played in october. what is another nickname for it? >> let's go with c. >> oh. baseball's not your thing? >> not really. >> i guess not. you are going to adore this "everyone has a story" cd. really. >> i'm sure he will. the correct answer is b, the fall classic. >> it started in 1903 and sports

writers nicknamed it the fall classic. >> it goes on and on and on. >> it does if it's a good series. >> back across. >> they're from georgia. in the northern hemisphere, where you live, autumn begins in september. when does it begin in the southern hemisphere. july, december, march or june? >> march. >> that means you won. share it with your mother. >> wow, i think that may have been a very lucky guess. >> it's a good answer, and it makes sense. it falls halfway through the year. when the sun is turning towards us on this side of the planet, it turns away from the other side of the planet. >> back across to kathie. >> oktoberfest is a 16-dame event that originated in what country. russia, ireland, germany or

canada? >> jaerm agermany. >> that seemed easy. october fest started in 1810, so this is the 200th anniversary. i'm not sure if you're planning on attending. maybe you should go there on the road. it's the 200th anniversary. it started in 1810. over 6 million people come. if you go, beware of the people that drink too much beer, they're called beer licken, beer corpses. >> back across to kathie. i went to one of those once. true or false, pumpkins can grow to be over 1,000 pounds? >> true. >> there you go from wisconsin. >> so smart. 1,000-pound pumpkin. >> christy grew a pumpkin 725 pounds, the circumference was over 16 feet. >> can you imagine carving and cleaning the guck out of that

thing? >> there's an intense technique that not everybody can do. >> back across to kath. >> a full moon in the fall is commonly referred to as what? blue moon, harvest moon, waxing moon or waning moon? >> harvest moon. >> yep. called the harvest money. >> we just had one miss so far. >> harvest moon is the full moon that comes closest to the eqinox and september 23rd. it looks bigger and brighter than a regular moon because it helped farmers bring in the crops. >> i didn't know that's why. back across. >> where are you from? >> mississippi? >> let's make a little room here. which of the following is not considered a fall seasonal fruit or vegetable, leeks, bananas, apples or dates? >> i'm going to see leek. >> isn't that a nasty sound. you're wrong, but this is one of

my favorites. enjoy. >> so the correct answer is bananas. >> bananas, you can get them all year-round when they're in peak season. >> we have time for another one. >> from colorado here, true or false. in the northern hemisphere during the fall we move our clock forward one hour due to daylight savings time? >> no, we fall back. >> there you go, baby girl. >> hopefully you don't make that mistake when you set your alarm. november 7th is daytime savings time this year. >> thank you so much. in keeping with the fall theme, the accidental housewife shares tips to prep your house for this season. that's ritd after this. ♪ i love my grandma. i love you grandma. grandma just makes me happy. ♪ to know, know, know you grandma is the bestest. the total package. grandpa's cooooooooool.

way cool. ♪ grandpa spoils me rotten. ♪ to know, know, know you ♪ is to love... some people call us frick and frack. we do finger painting. this is how grandpa and i roll. ♪ and i do [ pins fall ] grandma's my best friend. my best friend ever. my best friend ever. ♪ [ laughing ] [ boy laughs ] ♪ to know, know, know you after this we're gonna get ice cream. can we go get some ice cream? yeah. ♪ and i do ♪ and i do ♪ and i do ♪ and i do hey, you guys. want to try activia's great new taste? isn't this the yogurt that, you know... helps regulate your digestive system. trust me. it is beyond tasty. mmm. this is really good! new best tasting activia ever! ♪ activia

and eating well means getting enough whole grain and calcium. general mills big g is the only leading line of kid cereals with at least 8 grams of whole grain and a good source of calcium. help your kids get more of what they need, with general mills kid cereals. ♪ i was young and i was stupid ♪ i had just turned 17 ♪ a harmonica and a box guitar ♪ ♪ in a canvas-covered wagon stuffed... ♪ [ male announcer ] while the world's been waiting on the electric car, maybe the whole time, the electric car has been waiting for this... the wattstation from ge. it's going to change the way we get to where we all want to go. ♪ i didn't think much of it till i took it apart ♪

go-gurt is specially made to freeze and thaw by lunch time? so kids can have their favorite yogurt in their lunch box go-gurt. freeze it. thaw it. eat it up.

you can spring clean, but there's something about the fall that makes you want to feather near nest and prepare for the cold. >> julie he haddenman will share her household tips. welcome again. >> are you ready to wake up and smell some coffee? this is simple tips to clean out the fireplaces. the ashes can be allergy-causing. what you do is take some dampened coffee grinds and just put them on the ashes, because that will help you clean them out with a little shovel or spoon if you want to. >> it gives more to clean out?

>> it makes it easier to get rid of it. to get rid of the ashes in the bottom, ladies. >> all right, julie. >> another way to -- you're making fun of me already. we have minutes. the glass on the front of the firepla fireplace. great using vinegar and water. >> vinegar is great for everything. >> here's the trick. use some of the ashes if you dip the ashes, those dip a little bit of the water and the vinegar solution in the ash, it acts as an abrasive and will clean off -- >> doesn't it leave streaks of ash? >> no, no. go over it with some of this. add a little salt to your fire, and it will help clean the soot in your chimney. >> how about tequila and lime and have a drink? >> i'm trying to make more work for you. >> this is a good idea. a lot of times your doors, there's air looking out or windows and you get cold and can't figure out why. this is where julie comes in.

>> you have at least half a mile of perhaps gas leaks in your house, and now you take aim. see that little green perhaps. you hold this down, and what this will do is you have a reference temperature. if it's hotter, it will show ready, so in the summertime if you lose -- >> that will locate your leak for you? >> you got it. >> what do you when you know you have a leak? >> you call somebody. >> until the whole thing is replaced. >> you can get door snakes, which are wonderful, or you make your own -- you know all those socks you lost in the dryer, fill them with rice, sand or cat litter and put them as wass to insulate your windows. get the weatherizing for dummies. i love these guys. it comes with everything you need for doors forbes windows and one thing you don't think about are your sockets and your switches. you can lose up to 10% energy

loss in your home. >> what comes out of there? air? >> closer to the outdoors and all. who knew? the tip here is when you put these on, don't accidentally electricity could you te elect krs rokute yourself. it's under 20 bucks at lowe's. the detectors at lowe's are terrific. this is the luge gutter cleaner. instead of worrying about falling off that gutter, this is great. this is a remote control. it looks like a little army tank. i've taken this off because we don't have a gulter. it will move up and down your gutter. this is on now. >> it's like a -- >> it does it for you. >> and then this --

>> that's on the end whipping around in a circle. it will get rid of all the debris in there. so you know it won't get stuck, you can download on irobot.com a template as well. this is one of my favorites, i love playing mary pop pins and you love to sing and dance. you don't want all that yuck when you clean with ceiling fans down below. take an umbrella, and attach it and if you feel like taping it is great, hang it there so when you yourself handy dandy blow drier -- >> that's how you clean that? >> i'm a little short here today. just blow it down. and for the crevices in here you can't get -- it's a big word like delicatessen.

>> why don't you use a swiffer thing? >> this is very easy. it also works on chandeliers. by the way, as rob said, if you're out in the rain this is a great way to dry your umbrella. thank you. >> why do we wear gloves every time you're here? >> we're maintaining our -- >> that's the question. thank you, julie. coming up next, how to sneak some good in your kitchen. i can do a little cash...

50 on this card, maybe do... or you can use kmart layaway - with just $5, plus a little down - you spread the payments over eight weeks with no finance charges. you're good! no matter how you do the math - kmart layaway is the easy way to pay. there's smart and there's kmart smart. when allergies make them itch, don't wait for your pills to kick in. choose alaway, from the eye health experts at bausch & lomb. it works in minutes and up to 12 hours. bausch & lomb alaway. because it's not just your allergies, it's your eyes. because it's not just your allergies, hey, you guys. want to try activia's great new taste? isn't this the yogurt that, you know... helps regulate your digestive system. trust me. it is beyond tasty. mmm. this is really good! new best tasting activia ever! ♪ activia

we sell lathes, mills, high-tech equipment. i had an idea to go ahead and put up a couple of items on ebay, and they brought more than our expectations. meg whitman gave me the tools to expand globally. we sell to australia, india...

that big blue machine over there? it's going to malaysia on wednesday. with ebay, she created jobs for millions of people. with meg's creativity, she'll be able to create jobs here in california. i'm mariano ruiz and i'm a meg whitman success story. time for "teeoday's kitchen" we're with miss chase opine. >> it's important to help your child develop healthy habits now. missy is the aut author of "the sneaky chef."

hey, missy. >> sometimes you have to do it. >> sneaking will get your kids eating spinach and broccoli tonight at dinner without a fight. you can't argue with na. they're easier to teach good, healthy habits. >> especially breakfast is a top one. >> the name alone gets kids out of bed on the cold winter morning. we're naking breakfast ice cream. >> wow? >> we have frozen strawberries and avocado. that's good fat. >> uh-huh. >> it's full of fiber. >> kids don't like anything that's green unless it's a popsic popsicle. >> this is great yogurt with calcium pro biotics. some great protein. it's half the sugar of a normal breakfast cereal. you can pop it in your blender. ten seconds or 30 seconds. it will come out like this. >> do you need the cream in there? >> we didn't in this case. if you need it to go, put a little bit in. make your own breakfast ice

cream sundae. you can put toppings on it. hold hoda, this is your day. get involved. throw in more granola and blueberries. >> is that yummy? >> it's good. kind of sweet. >> that's how i got samantha out of bed in the morning. it's great for you. comes out like that. put it in a parfa aparfait glas make it fun. >> these are breakfast cookies. you koent get them to eat a bowl of cottage cheese and whole grains. i'm not getting samantha and emily to eat that. put it in a cookie, and you have a little bit of cinnamon keeps the blood sugar stable, whole grains, cottage cheese or ricotta cheese. less than half the sugar of any kids's breakfast cereal. >> for a kid to think they're having a cookie in the morning?

>> have them make them on the weekend and throw them in the freezer. >> i bet it's good with that. >> you can crumble that right on top. it's a mini-meal right there. >> you wouldn't taste any of those items. >> and this is breakfast sushi. >> i like this. it's a lot of fun. you want to roll out my little piece of whole wheat bread there. i cut the crust off for fun. >> oh, my gosh. hoda's cooking. alert the media. >> you're good. >> i know. >> that's the way she rolls. >> this is carrots and sweet potat potato. i want you to try it. >> this is like baby. >> this is thanksgiving in a bowl right here. >> delicious. >> put if your kitchen. macaroni and cheese. put it in there. you put a little bit on here. they'll never know.

you can make grilled cheese with it. >> they'll know. >> turkey bacon, a little bit of low fat cheese. >> you roll it up in sushi. >> you roll it up and cut it sushi style. you pop it in the toaster oven five minutes and you're good. >> nice ideas. thanks for coming up. >> thanks so much. >> we'll be back with more of "today" on nbc.

the file on david harmer isn't pretty. a corporate lawyer for a credit card company fined millions, even deceiving seniors. an executive for predatory lenders, as harmer's bank got billions from the wall street bailout. david harmer -- helping corporations rip people off. a record we can't afford. we need jerry mcnerney, small businessman, voting against congressional pay increases and refusing to take them, standing up for what's right. i'm jerry mcnerney, and i approved this message.

all righty. the time has arrived. it's time to see my sarah and see what's going on. >> we have people asking what they will learn will kathie lee in the book. >> you will find out secrets. >> you would have found them if you'd read my own book which

hoda hasn't read yet. >> you have to read the acknowledgments in our book. >> i'll read your whole book, hoda, because that's the way i roll. >> yes, indeed. >> there was a cute comment from patricia saying can we learn more about her? she tells her own -- >> there are things you're going to learn, i think. >> more importantly, it's about you. what are we going to learn about miss hoda woman? >> you're going to have to get the book. it's one of those -- you just see -- you'll just see when you -- >> is it the story of your life, hoda? >> are you trying to embarrass me? >> are we learn being your parents coming from egypt and everything? >> yeah, there's some about my parents. >> i think a lot of people are curious about that. >> there is some stuff on that. it takes you through the life and people i've met along the way, being in war zones, a lot of horrible hair capped off on this show. it didn't used to feel that bad until here. >> yes. it's bad.

hu stayed in "dateline," hoda, it would still be a secret. you're happy hour hoda. >> so much better. >> have a great day, everybody. tomorrow shakira is going to be here. >> also how to save money on almost everything. >> we're off on fourth grade. almost everything. >> we're off on fourth grade. >> bye. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

carly fiorina laid off 30,000 workers. when you're talking about massive layoffs, which we did... perhaps the work needs to be done somewhere else. [ male announcer ] fiorina shipped jobs to china. and while californians lost their jobs, fiorina tripled her salary. bought a million dollar yacht. and five corporate jets. i'm proud of what i did at hp. [ male announcer ] carly fiorina. outsourcing jobs. out for herself. [ barbara boxer ] i'm barbara boxer and i approve this message.